A sheet identifying apparatus includes: an excitation coil disposed upstream in a passage through which a sheet inserted into an input port passes and wound on an outer periphery of the passage; a first output unit that detects a magnetization variation of a magnetic element due to the excited excitation coil when the sheet having the magnetic element passes through a region of the passage where the excitation coil is disposed in a state where an AC current is applied to the excitation coil and that outputs a first detection signal when the magnetization variation is detected; and a second output unit that detects that the sheet passes through a region downstream in the passage on the basis of a characteristic of the sheet without using the magnetic element and that outputs a second detection signal when detecting that the sheet passes through the region.