this post was submitted on 04 Nov 2025
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I have not looked into that, if there are other ways of getting an ID that are legal, I might try them.
Yeah, you should. What country are you in?
I live in the US. I actually checked online for what my state requires to get an ID and I don't think it's possible for me to do without my parents. The only things I have access to are my SSN and possibly my birth certificate but I would need to provide several additional documents that I either don't have access to or have no idea how to provide them. It also seems like there isn't a way to get one online unless you've previously gotten one, which I obviously haven't.
In the US, there's Adult Protective Services that might be able to help you.
So you're in your 20's, in the states, and have never had a bank account?
I won't make assumptions about how that happened. I'm Canadian so I don't know how helpful this will be since our regulations are a bit different, but have you tried just walking into a bank with everything you have and explaining the situation? If they can't set up an account they should at least be able to point you in the right direction.
In Canada we can get a driver's learner permit with minimal ID. Birth certificate, SSN and proof of address should be enough. If you can get that you'll have a government issued photo ID and you'll be set. Alternatively, we can get a provincial ID with minimum documentation, if you can't get a driver's licence. There must be some equivalent in the states.
Another option is to get someone to notorize a document and photo that says you are you. Just call a notary near you and ask how.
I would try going to the bank on my own, but I'm not allowed to leave the house alone because my parents will threaten to call the police on me because they think I'm suicidal.
That also rules out the last thing you said because even if I could get an ID through that method, I still wont be able to get a bank account.
It sounds like the root problem is not being able to leave the house.
Do you know anyone who can escort you? Furthermore, "leaving the house while suicidal" isn't a crime. You're a legal adult, so unless there are measures in place the cops can't force you to do anything. Even if they can bring you back, you can probably set some stuff up before they find you.
No, I don't know anyone who could. I really haven't talked to anyone outside of my family since I graduated high school. I also don't really like the idea of being escorted by strangers.
Then I donno, man. Pull a Ferris Bueller or work for crypto.
The funny thing is, is that I have considered using crypto but on top of the fact that not all platforms except crypto, I also still can't use it because crypto platforms require IDs as well.
Trading platforms and exchanges require IDs, you don't need ID to have a crypto wallet for peer to peer transactions. I have like five.
How do I setup a crypto wallet? The only time I tried crypto was back when I still used the Brave web browser and I wasn't able to redeem the BAT that I earned without setting up a crypto wallet through a website that required an ID. If it's just an issue with how Brave handles their crypto currency, I do know of some other sources of crypto that I can try using.
Metamask is very beginner friendly and no different from setting up an e-mail.
https://metamask.io/en-GB
It's called a "non-custodial" wallet, you control your funds so you don't need ID. Custodial wallets are tied to exchanges that hold your funds, even though they belong to you, and all transactions are approved by the exchange. They follow KYC for legal reasons, like a stock exchange, but they're also a bit safer to use.
Since you'll be doing peer to peer transactions, remember there are no backsies. Once you send money, it's gone.
You won't be able to cash out at registered exchanges, so it'll be tricky to get IRL money unless you have buyers you trust.
I haven't used these guys in a while, but they don't need ID in Canada at least: https://coincards.com/
Be safe out there. Don't buy shit coins. Sign up for airdrops. Transfer fees go up and down throughout the day, it's always cheaper to move larger volumes at night in North America.
Okay, thank you. I'll check these out. Also, I have two kind of a random but still related questions. Do you know if I'd be able to use PayPal exclusively with prepaid credit cards? And, do you know if I can use both gift cards and prepaid credit cards through VPNs?
No prob. VPNs shouldn't affect how you can pay. Canadian banks all support e-transfers so we don't use a lot of cash apps, I've never used paypal.
I was able to use prepaid cards everywhere. They should work just like a Visa or Mastercard.
Okay, thanks again. The reason I asked about PayPal was because there are some websites that I want to be able to purchase things but PayPal is the only option they accept for at least some things. I saw that Coin Cards offers prepaid credit cards and I have read that, while PayPal requires either a bank account or a credit card to use, they might allow prepaid credit cards to be used instead, so I thought I'd ask just to make sure.
Hey, I know it's been awhile but I have another question. For crypto currencies, my only options are bitcoin, dogecoin, litecoin and dash (assuming that dash is a crypto currency, I wasn't able to find anything about what it actually is), can I use any of these four currencies with metamask?
Dash is a crypto, yeah. How to add coins and the supported currencies are here, along with anything else you need to know:
https://metamask.io/en-GB/faqs
For some reason I couldn't find the FAQs when I tried to look for it. But it seems like the options I have available to me aren't supported by metamask. This might not be much of a problem though, as I've found another way to get prepaid credit cards. The only problem is that they can't actually be used on PayPal, which means I wont be able to buy some games from Itchio but most developers release their games through Steam, so I should be able to buy them there.
No, I haven't talked to anyone outside of my family since I graduated high school and I have no way to contact any of my other relatives, assuming they would even help.
As for the documentation, I don't even know how to obtain some of the required documentation. For example, one of the requirements from what I've read, is two documents from different sources that are on an "acceptable document list" proving that I have a street address. I've looked at the list and it's mostly legal documents from sources that I've either never heard of or have no legal way of obtaining.
A utility bill would be one of two I need but my parents pay the bills online, so we don't get physical bills anymore. I also haven't tried calling them because I already know that they are just going to tell me to look at their list of acceptable documents.
I've previously mentioned that I'm pretty sure I have access to my birth certificate but if you read the list of requirements on the link I gave you, you'll see that it only covers 3 of the 5 (technically 6) requirements. I do have access to my SSN card but that still leaves the fifth (and sixth) requirement unfulfilled. As for sneaking out, I tried that multiple times over the years and every time I was escorted back home in a police car before I could even get to my destination. I can't even go to the grocery store on my own without having my parents calling the police on me.
The main reason why my parents are like this, is because I was diagnosed with autism back in middle school. Ever since then, my parents (and really my entire family) have started treating me differently.
And it's like, I'm not even trying to get a job or a bank account. I'm okay with not having them, what my issue is, is that because I'm limited to using "beer money" sites and apps to be able to buy things, I'm very limited as to where and what I can buy. I used to be able to buy pretty much anything I wanted to if I put in the work but then Swagbucks changed their policy so that you now require an ID to do pretty much anything on their website. I still have access to and use InstaGC but there's only 3 websites that I use and can actually use with the gift cards they offer. I also use Bing but that's both even more limited and extremely slow to earn enough points to actually buy anything. Every other app/website I know of is either not worth using, a scam or I'm hesitant to use because I'm starting to have trust issues with these websites and apps.
And seeing that America is slowly turning into a second Nazi Germany, I'm not optimistic for the future of these websites and apps.
Here's the thing, I have no idea what my parents tell the police because, if I try to explain my situation to them, they ignore everything I say and they start speaking louder while acting like their about to pull their guns out on me. I don't know if they would try to shoot me but I'm not about to find out.
And as for my sister, I don't even talk to her anymore. It just seems like she hates me for some reason. For example, the last time I talked to her was when I asked her if I could use her old laptop because it's been sitting in the basement for several years and I don't like leaving tech unused if I know I might be able to use it. She never answered my question and just said "Why the fuck do you want that? Get out of my room.".