Identification Requirements to Access City Services

If you have any questions about identification requirements for any service provided by the City of Toronto, call 311. You do not need to provide any personal information when asking for information.

 

The City of Toronto does not collect personal information unless there is a legislative or operational requirement to do so. In many cases, City services may be accessed with proof of identification only. Proof of identification or residency is not necessarily an official government document. It can be as simple as a telephone bill that shows your address depending on the service that is being accessed. Learn how the City protects your privacy.

Below is a searchable list of common City services that details what information will be required to access the service.

Identification Requirements for Commonly Accessed Services
Service Identification Required Name Address Date of Birth Income or Assets Immigration Status
Request services from the City through 311 No No No No No No
Information requests from 311 No No No No No No
Basic Needs Allowance for shelter residents Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
City operated child care programs Yes Yes Yes Yes3 No No
Child care fee subsidy Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Paramedic / ambulance No No No No No No
Financial Assistance from Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Toronto Employment and Social Services Employment Centres No No No No No No
Emergency Energy Fund Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Hardship Fund Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Fire services No No No No No No
Licenses and permits for businesses, trades and vehicles Yes Yes Yes Yes1 No Yes
By-law enforcement Yes Yes Yes No No No
Taxi licence Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Property inspection, standards, compliance and complaints No No No No No No
Pet licence Yes Yes Yes No No No
Recreation facilities and instructional, drop-in and registered recreation programs No No No No No No
Welcome Policy Financial Subsidy for Recreation Programs Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Emergency dental services No No No No No No
Dental clinics No Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Food Handler Certification Program (fee program) No Yes Yes Yes No No
Primary Care Clinics (sexual health, tuberculosis, The Works/Needle Exchange) No2 No No No No No
AIDS and Sexual Health Info-line / General Health Referral Line / Online Referral No2 No No No No No
Healthy Babies Healthy Children Program/Infant Hearing/Infant Vision No2 No No No No No
Vaccination Program No2 No No No No No
Prenatal counselling / breastfeeding support / postpartum adjustment / parenting workshops No2 No No No No No
Toronto preschool speech and language services No2 No No No No No
Registered health education sessions (for example: smoking cessation, diabetes programs) No2 No No No No No
Health education workshops in the community (for example: food skills, car seat safety, sun safety) No No No No No No
Emergency shelters No Yes2 No No No No
Streets to Homes Assessment and Referral Centre No No No No No No
Street outreach No No No No No No
Housing subsidies (rental supplements/housing allowances) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Social housing wait list/Rent Geared to Income (RGI) Housing Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Library card Yes Yes Yes No No No
24-hour respite sites No No No No No No
Central Intake No Yes2 No No No No
Eviction Prevention Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Tenant support grants No Yes Yes No No No
Tenant Hotline No No No No No No
Community & Economic Reintegration (CERT) Team No No No No No No
EarlyON Child and Family Centres4 No No No No No No

 

1 Information required for individual or partnership applicants/licensees only.2 Proof of identity may be requested (e.g. name, address, health insurance) in order to provide appropriate care, but clients who do not provide this information will not be denied service. For example, clients may be asked for their name to access the shelter system but are not required to show any identification with that name.3 For child only. 4 EarlyON Child and Family Centres are run by third party organizations but are funded and planned by the City of Toronto. Programs are free and no form of identification is required for the drop-in programs. 

 

Making a Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with a service you receive or feel you have been wrongfully excluded from receiving a service, there are four ways to make a complaint:

Most complaint processes do not require any proof of your identity, unless it’s a form completed online or you would like a follow-up to the complaint – for example, you may need to provide a name and/or email address.