Service
How to get a Public Services Card (PSC)
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
To get a Public Services Card (PSC), you will need to attend a PSC Centre. PSC Centres are available throughout the country and offer either an appointment or walk-in service.
The quickest and easiest way to make a Public Service Card (PSC) appointment is to contact your local PSC Centre directly. If you don’t have access to email, you can contact us by phone and the National Intreo Contact Centre team will email your local PSC centre to arrange an appointment on your behalf.
If your local PSC Centre offers a walk-in service, you will need to go to the centre during the opening hours for that centre.
You can find contact details to make an appointment and opening hours for walk-in centres on the Public Service Card (PSC) Centres page.
When making your appointment or going to a walk-in centre, you will need to provide your Personal Public Service (PPS) Number and some personal details.
You must be living in Ireland to receive a PSC.
You will need to bring:
If you don’t have a passport or driving licence as identification, you should contact your local PSC Centre before you arrive. They will give you more information about what documents you can provide to verify your identity.
If you have any of the items listed below, you should bring them to your appointment as they may also help to confirm your identity:
If you do not have any of these, you should bring other supporting documents or any form of photo ID you have.
The following items are not accepted as proof of identity:
Evidence of an Irish address needs to be provided by everyone at their appointment.
Your evidence of address document must show your name and full address. You can use any of these documents:
If you are staying with friends or relatives, an original household bill and a note from the bill holder is allowed. This note confirming that you live there can be written on the bill itself.
When you attend the PSC Centre, your identity will be verified. This is known as SAFE Registration. It will take around 15 minutes.
During SAFE registration your:
If you have made an appointment and you will not be able to attend, you should notify the centre as soon as possible so that the appointment can be offered to another person.
After you have attended the PSC centre and completed the SAFE registration process, your Public Services Card (PSC) will be posted to you. This will take 7-10 working days.
A PSC can only be sent to an Irish address.
An out-of-date card can still be used to:
If you want to renew your PSC you can do so:
If you have a question on this process, you can send us an enquiry or contact the Public Services Card helpdesk.