If you're unsure who is considered a first responder, it includes specific emergency and public safety roles listed below — such as EMTs, paramedics, law enforcement, and certain federal agents.
Tip: Nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals are not considered first responders unless specifically listed below.
Who qualifies as first responders in the U.S.
Emergency medical technicians
The following occupations qualify as EMTs:
- Emergency medical technician (EMT) - Basic, medium, or advanced
- Flight nurse
- Medical helicopter pilot
- Mobile intensive care nurse
- National Ski Patrol Member
- Paramedic
- Pre-Hospital Registered Nurse
- Transport nurse (ALS Ground/Air Medical, ACM-FN)
Firefighters
The following occupations qualify as firefighters:
- Airport fire operations
- Commissioner (Fire Dept.)
- Engineer
- Fire medical officer
- Firefighter - career, volunteer, and retired (federal included)
- Fire marshal
- Helitack
- Lieutenant
- Past chief
- Probationary
- Supervisory forestry technician
- Wildland firefighter/ prescribed fire burn manager
Law Enforcement Officers
The following occupations qualify as law enforcement officers:
- Animal control officers who are credentialed as a LEO
- Assistant chief officer
- Auxiliary & reserve sheriff deputy or police officers
- Bridge and tunnel officers
- Chief officer
- Conservation officers
- Correctional supply officers
- Corrections officers (at either government-run or private / for-profit institutions)
- Emergency response team (ERT)
- Inmate recovery team (IRT)
- Quick response strike team (QRST)
- Special emergency response team (SERT)
- Courthouse security
- Detention officers (at either government-run or private / for-profit institutions)
- Family court officers
- District Attorney
- Fire marshals who are certified law enforcement officers
- Fleet reserve
- Game warden
- Investigator (state or local)
- Jailer (at either government-run or private / for-profit institutions)
- Jail Administrator / Assistant Jail Administrator
- Juvenile institutional officers (peace officer)
- Metro transit police
- Park rangers (state)
- Parole officers
- Patrol officer
- Patrol deputy
- Police officers (federal, state, and local; campus police) - active & retired
- Pretrial services officers (and officer assistants)
- Probation officers (and officer assistants)
- Railroad police officers
- School resource officers
- Sheriff's deputy
- State's attorney
- State capitol police
- State law enforcement
- State troopers
- State police inspector
- Tribal police
- Wildlife officer
Federal law enforcement officers and agents
The following occupations qualify as federal law enforcement officers and agents:
- Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) (All Employees)
- Amtrak Police Department
- Bureau of Prisons (BOP) (All Employees)
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (All Employees)
- Customs & Border Patrol (CBP)
- Department of Corrections
- Department of Defense (for example: Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), etc.)
- Department of Fish and Game
- Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- Air Marshals
- Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO)
- Federal Protective Service
- Transportation Security Administration Agent (with a red shield on their badge ONLY)
- Department of Interior (US Park police, US Park rangers)
- Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General (Special Agents)
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Department of Public Safety
- Department of State
- Department of the Treasury
- Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) (All Employees)
- Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) (All Employees)
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
- SSA Assistant Special Agent
- US attorney
- US Attorney General
- US capitol police
- US Marshals Service
- US Postal Inspectors (Postal Inspectors & Criminal Investigators)
- US Secret Service
911 Dispatchers (for select offers only)
The following occupations qualify as 911 dispatchers:
- Fire communications officer
- Police or EMS dispatcher
- Police compliant officer (911 dispatcher)
- Police service representative (LAPD only)
- Public safety telecommunicator (PST)
Who qualifies as first responders in Canada
In Canada, the following groups are eligible to verify their first responder status:
- Certified EMT / Paramedic, including Emergency Medical Attendant (EMA)
- State-certified firefighter
- Law enforcement officers, including:
- Federal, provincial, and municipal police officers
- Royal Canadian mounted police officers
- Correctional service Canada (CSC) officers
- First nations reserve police officers
- Canadian forces military police (CFMP) officers
Who is not eligible for first responder discounts
Many members ask if nurses or doctors qualify for first responder status. They do not, unless listed under EMT or 911 dispatcher occupations. The following occupations are not eligible for first responder verification with ID.me:
- Advocate coordinator
- Ambulance driver (can qualify only if you can also document being an EMT or paramedic)
- Animal control officer (not credentialed as a LEO)
- Animal services officer
- Assistant superintendent
- CERT team member (Community Emergency Response Team)
- Chaplain
- Correctional food service supervisor
- Civilian deputy
- Civilian employee (staff, employees, secretaries, administrative assistants, etc.)
- Classification officer
- Code enforcement officer
- Community outreach specialist
- Community service aide
- Coroner
- Corrections staff (civilian employees)
- Court bailiff
- Court services officer
- Crime lab analyst
- Crime scene analyst/technician
- Crisis intervention specialist
- Custody specialist
- Department of agriculture
- Deputy clerk
- Detention technician and communications officer
- Emergency management volunteer
- Emergency medical responder (EMR)
- FEMA
- Fire Corps volunteer
- Forensic services
- Highway safety service patrol (Roadside assistance, Road ranger service patrol, Safety service patrol)
- Laboratory / evidence tech
- Medic
- Medical examiner
- Medical professional (doctor, nurse, pharmacy technician, etc.)
- Ocean lifeguard
- Parking enforcement officer
- Police service technician
- Peace Corps
- Police badge (no name)
- Police reserves (volunteer)
- Police recruit
- Police trainee
- Recreation specialist
- Sanitation worker
- Search and rescue team member
- Security officer
- Ski patrol (unless licensed as an EMT)
- Traffic officer
- Transportation security officer for TSA
- Trial court officer
- Victims witness assistant