The federal REAL ID rule asks for at least two documents with your name and home address, and lets each state pick which ones count. So there’s no national list, and the bill most households now get is the one the state lists handle least clearly.
Does a cell phone bill count as proof of address for REAL ID?
In 15 places, yes, by name: Alaska, California, DC, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Washington. In four, no:
- Idaho: “Cell phone bills are not accepted.”
- New Mexico: “Cell phone billing statements are NOT accepted.”
- Virginia: a utility bill, “cell phone bills are not accepted.”
- Oregon, since August 13, 2026: “‘Utility’ does not include cell phone, streaming, or other service not tied to a physical address.”
Everywhere else, the list doesn’t settle it. Twelve say “phone” or “telephone” bill without saying which kind, Tennessee names only a landline bill, 15 say only “utility bill,” and four list no phone bill at all. In the second half of 2025, 80.0% of US adults lived in a home with only wireless phones.
What 51 REAL ID lists say about a cell phone bill
REAL ID proof-of-address lists in the 50 states and DC: 15 name a cell phone bill as accepted, 4 refuse one, 12 say phone or telephone bill without saying which kind, 1 names only a landline bill, 15 say only utility bill, and 4 list no phone bill.
Internet bills are rarer still. Ten lists name one: Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
How old can the bill be?
Anywhere from 45 days to a year, and 16 lists give no limit. Wyoming is the strictest at 45 days. Twelve more stop at 60 days or two months: Delaware, DC, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia. Six take 90 days, five allow four to nine months, and 11 take a bill up to a year old.
The oldest bill each REAL ID list accepts
Oldest bill accepted by REAL ID proof-of-address lists in the 50 states and DC: 45 to 60 days, 13; 90 days, 6; 4 to 9 months, 5; 1 year, 11; no limit stated, 16.
Two states disagree with themselves. Texas’s REAL ID page says a bill dated within 90 days, while its form DL-57 allows 180. West Virginia’s web pages say 60 days and an older brochure says 90. In both, bring a bill from the last month or two and the question doesn’t come up.
Can you bring a paperless bill?
Print it. Thirteen lists say a printout of an online bill counts: DC, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Only four take an electronic copy as the document itself: Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey and North Carolina. Eleven lists say documents must be printed or on paper, and five of those also accept printouts of online bills. In those, a bill on your phone screen won’t do.
Delaware is the outlier: “photocopies or printouts of bills will not be accepted,” and the mail must have come through the U.S. Postal Service. A Delaware household on paperless billing has to switch a bill back to paper, or use another document on the list.
What 51 REAL ID lists say about a paperless bill
REAL ID proof-of-address lists in the 50 states and DC: 13 say a printout of an online bill counts, 4 take an electronic copy as the document, 6 require paper and don't mention printouts, 1 refuses printouts of bills (Delaware), and 27 don't say.
What does your state accept?
“Printout” is a printed online bill and “E-copy” is a bill shown or uploaded from your phone. “Not said” means the list doesn’t say either way.
| State | Cell bill | Internet bill | Oldest bill | Printout | E-copy | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Not listed | Not named | 90 days | Not said | Not said | List |
| Alaska | Yes | Not named | No limit stated | Not said | Not said | List |
| Arizona | “Utility bill” only | Not named | No limit stated | Not said | Not said | List |
| Arkansas | “Phone bill,” type not said | Yes | 6 months | Not said | Not said | List |
| California | Yes | Not named | No limit stated | Not said | No | List |
| Colorado | “Phone bill,” type not said | Not named | 1 year | Not said | Yes | List |
| Connecticut | “Utility bill” only | Not named | 90 days | Not said | No | List |
| Delaware | “Utility bill” only | Not named | 60 days | No | Not said | List |
| District of Columbia | Yes | Not named | 60 days | Yes | No | List |
| Florida | Yes | Not named | 60 days | Yes | Not said | List |
| Georgia | Yes | Yes | 6 months | Not said | Not said | List |
| Hawaii | “Phone bill,” type not said | Not named | 2 months | Not said | Not said | List |
| Idaho | No | Not named | 1 year | Yes | Not said | List |
| Illinois | “Utility bill” only | Not named | No limit stated | Yes | Not said | List |
| Indiana | “Utility bill” only | Not named | 60 days | Not said | Not said | List |
| Iowa | “Utility bill” only | Not named | No limit stated | Not said | Not said | List |
| Kansas | “Utility bill” only | Not named | 1 year | Not said | No | List |
| Kentucky | “Utility bill” only | Not named | 1 year | Not said | Not said | List |
| Louisiana | Yes | Yes | No limit stated | Not said | Not said | List |
| Maine | “Phone bill,” type not said | Not named | No limit stated | Not said | Not said | List |
| Maryland | Yes | Not named | No limit stated | Not said | Not said | List |
| Massachusetts | Yes | Not named | 60 days | Not said | Not said | List |
| Michigan | “Phone bill,” type not said | Not named | 90 days | Not said | Yes | List |
| Minnesota | Yes | Yes | 1 year | Yes | No | List |
| Mississippi | “Phone bill,” type not said | Yes | No limit stated | Not said | Not said | List |
| Missouri | “Phone bill,” type not said | Yes | 1 year | Not said | No | List |
| Montana | “Phone bill,” type not said | Not named | 1 year | Not said | Not said | List |
| Nebraska | Not listed | Not named | 90 days | Not said | Not said | List |
| Nevada | Not listed | Not named | 60 days | Yes | Not said | List |
| New Hampshire | “Phone bill,” type not said | Not named | No limit stated | Not said | Not said | List |
| New Jersey | “Utility bill” only | Not named | 1 year | Not said | Yes | List |
| New Mexico | No | Not named | 60 days | Yes | Not said | List |
| New York | “Utility bill” only | Not named | 1 year | Yes | No | List |
| North Carolina | “Utility bill” only | Not named | No limit stated | Not said | Yes | List |
| North Dakota | Not listed | Not named | No limit stated | Not said | No | List |
| Ohio | “Phone bill,” type not said | Not named | 1 year | Not said | Not said | List |
| Oklahoma | Yes | Not named | 60 days | Not said | Not said | List |
| Oregon | No | Not named | 6 months | Yes | No | List |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | Not named | No limit stated | Not said | No | List |
| Rhode Island | Yes | Not named | 60 days | Not said | Not said | List |
| South Carolina | Yes | Yes | 9 months | Not said | Not said | List |
| South Dakota | “Phone bill,” type not said | Not named | 1 year | Not said | Not said | List |
| Tennessee | Landline only | Not named | 4 months | Not said | Not said | List |
| Texas | Yes | Yes | 90 days (180 on form DL-57) | Yes | No | List |
| Utah | “Utility bill” only | Not named | 90 days | Not said | Not said | List |
| Vermont | “Utility bill” only | Not named | No limit stated | Not said | Not said | List |
| Virginia | No | Not named | 2 months | Yes | Not said | List |
| Washington | Yes | Yes | No limit stated | Yes | Not said | List |
| West Virginia | “Utility bill” only | Not named | 60 days (90 in an older brochure) | Not said | Not said | List |
| Wisconsin | “Phone bill,” type not said | Yes | No limit stated | Yes | Not said | List |
| Wyoming | “Utility bill” only | Not named | 45 days | Not said | Not said | List |
What should you bring to the DMV?
Two documents from two different senders, both recent, both on paper, both named on your state’s list. A bill your list doesn’t name isn’t refused, and the clerk may well take it. If they don’t, the second trip is yours. So if your state doesn’t name a cell phone bill, don’t lead with one. A bank statement, a lease or an insurance policy avoids the question. Our guide to getting proof of address covers what to do when no bill has your name on it, and what counts as a utility bill explains the line between a utility and every other bill.
The hard part is finding last month’s statement the night before your appointment, not printing it. That’s what Granite is for: it reads each bill as you add it, so a search for “electric bill” finds it on the web or your iPhone.
How we read the lists
The table shows what each state’s official REAL ID list says as of November 4, 2026. Each row links to that state’s DMV page, checklist PDF or regulation.
- Names a cell phone bill means the list says cell, mobile or wireless phone bill. Refuses means it says one isn’t accepted. Everything else counts as unclear.
- Printed e-bill: yes only where the list says a printout of an online, electronic or paperless bill counts. “Computer-generated bill” alone doesn’t count as yes.
- Illinois’s full document list is a scanned PDF, so its row comes from the Secretary of State’s REAL ID page.
These are the published rules, not what every clerk does at the counter. Lists change, so we’ll read every one again each spring and fall.
Cite this: Granite, “Only 15 of 51 REAL ID lists name a cell phone bill as proof of address,” November 4, 2026, https://granite.co/library/articles/real-id-proof-of-address-by-state.