Faculty, Staff and Student ID Card Expiration and Renewal

Expiration Dates

Every Carnegie Mellon ID+ Card is printed with an expiration date on the front of the card.  For faculty, staff and students the expiration date is set to be 2 years from the date of issuance of the ID+ card.  For these cardholders the expiration date applies only to the bus pass if there is a bus pass icon on the front of the card.  The ID+ card will continue to function for all purposes other than bus pass privileges beyond the expiration date which is printed on the face of the card as long as the cardholder has either a current employee appointment or is a currently enrolled student.

Renewing an Expiring Card

You may replace your card at anytime up to 2 months prior to the expiration date that is printed on the ID+ card. 

The process for renewing your ID+ Card is a simple process.  The first step is to complete the ID Card Request Form which can be found in the Forms section of our website.  This form is also available in our office and can either be completed when you visit the card office to renew your card or can be downloaded from the website and completed in advance.

Once you have the form (assuming you are not filling one out in our office) all you have to do is stop by our office during normal business hours and have us print your replacement card.  The process takes approximately 3-5 minutes.

Your current ID+ Card must be surrendered when we print your replacement ID+ Card otherwise the current lost card fee will apply. 

Updating You ID Photo

There is no need for you to submit a new photo or have one taken in our office if you are happy with the photo that is currently on your ID+ Card.  However, if you wish to submit a digital photo of yourself to be used in place of the photo we currently have on file you can do so by submitting your photo through our ID+ Photo Submission application.  If you choose to do this please allow at least 48 hours for processing your photo before visiting the Card Office to renew your card.  You will receive an e-mail confirmation once your photo has been accepted and processed. 

We are also happy to take a new photo in our office if you do not have a digital photo to submit but would like a new photo for your ID+ Card.

We apologize but we are unable to process hard copy photos do to the amount of time that it requires to properly scan and process these photos.

Card Renewal by an Authorized Designate

If a cardholder is unable to visit our office to renew their ID+ card the cardholder may authorize a designate to renew their ID+ Card for them.  The cardholder must complete the ID+ Card Request Form as well as our Authorized Designate Renewal Form.  The designate must bring both completed forms to the Card Office along with the cardholders current ID+ Card.  The designate must be the individual named in the Authorized Designate Renewal Form and must present their valid ID+ Card.  When we have completed printing the replacement ID+ Card for the cardholder the designate will be required to complete and sign the ID+ Card acceptance portion of the Authorized Designate Renewal Form.

A department is allowed to appoint a designate to renew multiple cards for a single department as long as the designate is willing to accept responsibility for the ID+ Cards until they are each delivered to the appropriate cardholder.  An ID+ Card Request Form and Authorized Designate Renewal Form must be completed for every ID+ Card that the designate will be renewing.

Designates must deliver the ID+ Cards to the cardholders in person.  Under no circumstance is the designate allowed to leave the ID+ Card in a campus mail slot or to have the card delivered by an external mail/package delivery mechanism such as the USPS, UPS or FedEx.  If mail service is required the Card Office can arrange to mail an ID+ Card to an individual via certified mail with recipient identity verification.  The Card Office charges a $25 processing fee for this service option which covers the mailing and packaging expenses.

Faculty, Staff and Student ID+ Card Expiration and Renewal FAQ 

How long is my ID+ Card valid for? 

The expiration date on the ID+ Card is automatically set to be two years from the date that the card is issued.  As this is the case the majority of ID+ Cards do not expire on 9/30/08.  Our intentions with the two year expiration date are to minimize our risk of fraudulent use of the card within the Port Authority Transit system while maximizing the lifetime of the ID+ Card.  We have set up rolling expiration dates based upon the date of issuance of the card in order to spread the ID+ Card replacement cycle out over the entire year rather than doing mass ID+ Card replacements at specific times of the year.  We feel that ultimately this will make it easier for individuals to replace their ID+ Cards when their ID+ Card expiration date is close.

Do all ID+ Cards expire on the same date (9/30/2008)?

No.  A large portion of ID+ Cards, especially those cars that belong to faculty and staff members that have been here from some time, expire on 9/30/2008.  This is because we first issued the new ID+ Cards in the fall of 2006.  However, if you have joined the university after the fall of 2008 or had a replacement card printed your expiration date will be two years from the date that the card was issued.  If you are uncertain of when your ID+ Card expires simply check the expiration date on the front of the card.

Why does my ID+ Card have a two year expiration date when I will be with the University for much longer than that?

The university is required by the Port Authority to print an expiration date on the ID+ Card to limit the potential for fraudulent use by an individual that may leave the university but does not turn in their ID+ Card and continues to use their ID+ card to receive bus privileges.

What happens if I don't renew my ID+ Card?

As far as your access to campus resources such as parking, building access, library access, or Plaid Ca$h and meal plans nothing will happen.  Your ID+ card will continue to work for access to these resources just as it always has.  However, if you use your ID+ Card for Port Authority transit or for ID+ card discounts that may be offered by local merchants then your card will not work for those resources after the expiration date.