Library of Congress Reader Card: How to Get One and Plan Your Visit
To research in the reading rooms of the Library of Congress, you need a library card issued by the Library itself, often called a reader card or Reader Identification Card. You get it in person at a registration desk on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, after filling in a pre-registration form online and showing a physical photo ID. Use the planner to check whether you can get a card on the day you plan to go, which desks are open when you arrive and when your reading room closes.
Plan your reader card visit
Enter the day and time you plan to arrive, your age and the ID you will carry. The planner checks the Library's rules, lists the registration desks open at that hour and shows when your reading room closes. It knows Sundays and the federal holiday schedule through 2028.
Dates to know
Uses the visit date above. Add the date on your current card to see when it runs out.
Who can get a Library of Congress card
The Library's card page opens its research centers to anyone 16 or older with a valid government-issued photo ID. It names a driver's license, a state-issued ID card and a passport as examples, and it accepts only physical documents: a digital or mobile ID on your phone will not do.
- Ages 16 and 17. Teens follow the standard steps and also bring a permission form signed by a parent or legal guardian. A teacher or chaperone cannot sign it. The Library adds that the card does not open every collection to minors.
- Under 16. Younger children cannot get a card. The Main Reading Room says children without a card must be escorted into the reading rooms by an adult who has authorized entry.
- Groups. Large groups of new researchers should call Reader Registration ahead at 202-707-5278.
The Library calls it a Reader Identification Card on some pages and a library card on others. Either way, you need it for the research centers, the computer labs and the Copyright Office Reading Room. It is the minimum requirement, and some research centers add their own registration steps or conditions of use.
How to get your card, step by step
- Pre-register online. The Library asks new researchers to fill in its online pre-registration form before the visit. If the form gives you trouble, registration staff can help when you arrive. It does not accept registrations by mail, email or phone.
- Enter through the Madison or Jefferson Building. Those are the entrances the Library recommends for new users. Everyone passes a metal detector and an x-ray check run by the U.S. Capitol Police. No timed ticket or appointment is needed, and if staff ask why you are there, say you have come to get your library card and use a reading room.
- Check your coat and bag first. The Library wants coats, bags and other bulky items stored in a cloak room before you go to a registration desk.
- Show your ID at a Reader Registration desk. Once staff verify your ID, they take your photo and issue your card.
Registration desk hours
The Library revised these hours effective June 1, 2026, and its list now includes a new location in the Jefferson Building, Room LJ 110.
| Desk | Hours |
|---|---|
| Jefferson Building, Room LJ 110 | Monday: Closed; Tuesday to Wednesday: 10 am to 4:30 pm; Thursday: 10 am to 8 pm; Friday to Saturday: 10 am to 4:30 pm |
| Madison Building, Room LM 133 | Monday: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm; Tuesday to Saturday: 8:30 am to noon |
| Jefferson Building, Room LJ 139 | Monday: 8:30 am to 8 pm; Tuesday to Wednesday: noon to 8 pm; Thursday to Saturday: noon to 4:30 pm |
From the Library's Get Your Library Card page (archived copy dated September 8, 2026). The list gives no Sunday hours, and research centers are closed on Sundays. Room LM 133 sits inside the Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room, and LJ 139 inside the Microform and Electronic Resources Center.
Reading room hours
Every research center is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 5 pm, and all of them are closed on Sundays and federal holidays. Three rooms stay open until 8:30 pm Monday to Thursday, and six rooms open on Saturdays. You can walk in without an appointment, although the Library says one may help make sure your material is ready.
| Research center | Building, room | Closes Mon to Thu | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|
| African and Middle Eastern Reading Room | Jefferson, LJ 229 | 5 pm | Closed |
| American Folklife Center | Jefferson, LJ G31 | 5 pm | Closed |
| Asian Reading Room | Jefferson, LJ 150 | 5 pm | Closed |
| Copyright Reading Room | Madison, LM 463 | 5 pm | Closed |
| European Reading Room | Jefferson, LJ 249 | 5 pm | Closed |
| Geography and Map Reading Room | Madison, LM B01 | 5 pm | Closed |
| Hispanic Reading Room | Jefferson, LJ 240 | 5 pm | Closed |
| Law Library of Congress | Madison, LM 242 | 5 pm | 8:30 am to 5 pm |
| Main Reading Room | Jefferson, LJ 100 | 8:30 pm | 8:30 am to 5 pm |
| Manuscript Reading Room | Madison, LM 101 | 5 pm | 8:30 am to 5 pm |
| Moving Image Research Center | Madison, LM 336 | 5 pm | Closed |
| Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room | Madison, LM 133 | 8:30 pm | 8:30 am to 5 pm |
| Performing Arts Reading Room | Madison, LM 113 | 5 pm | 8:30 am to 5 pm |
| Prints and Photographs Reading Room | Madison, LM 337 | 5 pm | Closed |
| Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room | Jefferson, LJ 239 | 5 pm | Closed |
| Recorded Sound Research Center | Madison, LM 113 | 5 pm | Closed |
| Science and Business Reading Room | Adams, LA 500 | 8:30 pm | 8:30 am to 5 pm |
From the Library's Hours for Research page (archived copy dated July 25, 2026).
What to bring and what to leave at home
Bring the physical photo ID and as little else as you can, since the Library asks visitors to limit what they carry in. It does not let bags larger than 18 by 14 by 8.5 inches into its buildings, along with items such as aerosol containers, drones, sealed envelopes and packages, knives and noise amplification devices. Battery-operated devices, bottles and cans, small creams or lotions up to 3.4 ounces and food or drinks in their original packaging are allowed in the buildings.
The cloak rooms in the Jefferson and Madison buildings are open Monday to Thursday, 8:30 am to 9 pm, and Friday and Saturday, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. They do not take duffle bags or oversized luggage, and nothing can stay overnight. In the Adams Building, the Science and Business Reading Room has free self-service lockers. When you leave, expect a theft detection gate and a bag check.
The three buildings sit on Capitol Hill and are fully accessible: the Jefferson Building at 10 First Street SE (enter on First Street), the Madison Building at 101 Independence Avenue SE (enter on Independence Avenue) and the Adams Building at Second Street and Independence Avenue SE (enter on the Second Street side).
What your card lets you do
Request books to a reading room. With the card you can order material from the general collections, the Law Library and the Music Division through the Automated Call Slip system. Those items are served only in the Main, European, Hispanic, Science and Business and Performing Arts reading rooms and the Law Library. The collections sit in closed stacks that only staff can enter, and in the Main Reading Room staff hold your items for pickup or bring them to your seat.
Allow time for delivery. The Main Reading Room lists these retrieval times: 45 minutes to 1 hour for items in the same building, up to 2 hours from another building, 30 minutes for microfilm and microfiche, and 24 to 48 business hours for items stored off-site, with no retrieval over the weekend. You can also keep up to ten books for seven business days in the Seven-Day Reserve areas of the Main Reading Room and the Science and Business Reading Room.
Order ahead before you have a card. Researchers without a card can use Ask a Librarian to have general collection books waiting for them. Give the author, title, call number and your visit date, and send it at least one week ahead from inside the U.S. or two weeks ahead from abroad. The Library holds these requests for 15 business days after your planned visit. For manuscripts, rare books and other special collections, contact the research center before you go.
Know what works from home. The card does not give remote access to the Library's subscription databases, ejournals or ebooks, which are only available on site in Washington, DC. It does work with HathiTrust: log in with your card number and password to download full PDFs of public domain works and to use its Collection Builder, from anywhere. It does not open page images of items HathiTrust marks Limited (search only).
Renewing your card
A Library of Congress card is valid for two years. To renew, go to a Reader Registration desk with a valid government-issued photo ID; you do not need to pre-register again. The planner's date box works out roughly when a card issued on a given day runs out, but the date printed on your card is the one that counts.
If you are also visiting other libraries in the city, see our guides to libraries in Washington, DC and DC library hours. For research collections elsewhere, our research library guide and our guide to university library access for non-students cover what other institutions ask for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can get a Library of Congress reader card?
Anyone 16 or older with a valid, physical government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license, a state-issued ID card or a passport. Teens aged 16 and 17 also need a permission form signed by a parent or legal guardian.
Can I get a Library of Congress card online?
Only partly. You fill in the pre-registration form online before your visit, then finish in person at a Reader Registration desk by showing your ID. The Library does not accept registrations by mail, email or phone.
Does a mobile or digital ID work for a Library of Congress card?
No. The Library says it accepts only physical documents and cannot accept digital identification. Bring the physical ID.
How long is a Library of Congress card valid?
Two years. You renew it in person at a registration desk with a valid government-issued photo ID, and you do not have to pre-register again.
Can I use my Library of Congress card from home?
Not for its subscription databases, ejournals or ebooks, which are only available on site. You can use the card number and password with HathiTrust to download full PDFs of public domain works from anywhere.
Where do I get a Library of Congress card?
At a Reader Registration desk on Capitol Hill: Room LM 133 in the Madison Building, Room LJ 139 in the Jefferson Building, or the new desk in Jefferson Building Room LJ 110. Their hours differ by day, so check the table or the planner before you go.
Sources
Every rule, fee and figure on this page comes from the official page listed here. We read each one on September 26, 2026. The Library's website blocks automated readers, so we read its pages from archived copies made between June and September 2026. Hours and rules can change, so check the Get Your Library Card page before you travel.
- Library of Congress: Get Your Library Card: https://www.loc.gov/research-centers/use-the-library/research-at-the-library/get-your-library-card/
- Library of Congress: Hours for Research: https://www.loc.gov/research-centers/use-the-library/research-at-the-library/hours-for-research/
- Library of Congress: Building Access: https://www.loc.gov/research-centers/use-the-library/research-at-the-library/building-access/
- Library of Congress: User Policies: https://www.loc.gov/research-centers/use-the-library/research-at-the-library/user-policies/
- Library of Congress: Using the Main Reading Room: https://www.loc.gov/research-centers/main/about-this-research-center/using-the-reading-room/
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Federal Holidays: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/