Real ID - 2008? (Getting my Driver's License, 2007)

I just received the Snopes weekly newsletter which contains:

In a mixture of truth and falsehood, e-mail of the moment asserts that by 2008, licensed U.S. motorists will have to undergo recredentialing and have Federal ID numbers inserted into their hands.

The link for the story and debunking of the untrue parts of it is http://www.snopes.com/politics/traffic/realid.asp.

According to Snopes, "as of April, 2007, the DHS lists ... requirements for a Real-ID compliant driver's license, and lists them.

From http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/07-1009.htm

Minimum Driver's License or Identification Card Data Element Requirements

To meet the requirements of section 202(b) of the Act, a State is required to include, at a minimum, the following information and features on each driver's license and identification card:

1. Full legal name;
2. Date of birth;
3. Gender;
4. Driver's license or identification card number;
5. A digital color photograph;
6. Address of principal residence;
7. Signature;
8. Physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the document for any fraudulent purpose;
9. A common MRT, with defined minimum data elements.

In addition, DHS has determined that States must also include issue date and expiration date on each driver's license or identification card.

What this means is you will need to be able to prove you are who you say you are, and all of the information above, using Primary Sources (Birth Certificates, Passports, etc.) You may also need to prove other things (address, etc.), so be sure to see the link above and/or your own state's BMV site for the documenation you will need.

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I just got my driver's license renewed. I forgot that it expired on my BD (3/21), and, when I remembered (second week of April, 2007), I was "out and about", and thought I'd just stop in for a few minutes, and get it renewed. Nope.

I don't remember ANY publicity or notificiation (or reminders) that the above was happening NOW. Here's what happened.

I walked in, and within about five (5) minutes was seated with the lady verifying my information from my old license for my new license. She asked if everything was still correct, and then sat without asking questions for a few moments. She said that it was connecting "with downtown" (Lebanon or Indy?) and verifying my info... That if it hadn't responded within 20 minutes, she was to call "downtown". About 10 minutes later, she apparently got notification that she was to call, so she did. (The phone was at a desk out of my seated sight.)

About 10 minutes later, she returned, and asked if I had any other ID. I didn't (I had CCs, my voter's registration, and others, but nothing was good enough.) I asked why? She said that someone with my exact name (William D. Sanders) had had their license suspended in another state, and I had to prove that I was me. (Now, I need to say that my license had been updated at the same branch last year, after I'd tested with hand-controls. It had to be marked with that restriction - so I can ONLY use hand-controls, now.) I said, holding up my license with my picture on it, "And THIS isn't good enough?" Nope. I looked through my wallet, again, and found that even if I'd still had my draft registration card from 1973 in my wallet, it was obviously expired, so wouldn't have worked. I could only use a certified birth certificate, passport (which I've never had occassion to get), or something else.

Knowing that I had my BC at home, I started to leave as she said we could call Zanesville Ohio for it. I don't know if they could FAX a "certified copy" or not, but, if not, I knew it would take a few days to get here, and I wanted to get the license NOW, especially since it was expired, and now SOME people in the government knew it! So I drove the 1/2 mile home and started looking through all my genealogical data (which is one of the reasons I had gotten my BC, and I KNEW it was there, somewhere.)

After going through it all twice, I finally found it, and returned to the branch. Since I'd been there before, I got right back to where I was before, but had to wait for a couple of ladies to get theirs. The same girl came and took my BC and license, and went to the phone. It took about 15 minutes before I heard her say my name over the phone. My middle name is not spelled the way many are, and I said, "You're going to have to spell it"... She said, "I am spelling it," and spelled it and my last name over the phone. She then went to the copier, within my seated sight, and photocopied my BC. I said, "Heck, if I'd have known a photocopy would do, I'd have just printed the scanned version." (It wouldn't have worked... The Certification process adds ink and indents of the state seal in the special paper.)

I had to sign that I was who I said I was and that the paper I'd provided was me. (Guess they could get me for perjury, too, if it weren't.) I went to the cashier and paid $26 (for 6 years), and back to the camera. She took my picture, and waited a few minutes while the machine processed my license.

While we were waiting, I pointed out that they weren't called ME a liar, but THIS BRANCH ITSELF, since they provided me with the license I was renewing just last year. Also, I'd complained that I'd not heard or seen anything about the "proof" requirement (primary sources), and the girl's supervisor found a sheet of paper with the items needed on it. (I have since tossed it, I believe. If I find it, I will attach a link to it here. But remember, it may only be good for Indiana.)

To add insult to injury, while we were waiting, the branch closed, the door was locked, and everyone else filed to the back. When she handed me my license, I tried to leave, but the door was locked. She came and let me out, and I went home.

So, the "10 minutes" it would normally and used to have taken (in 04/2007 - thought this requirement was for something like 05/2007?) took about a half-hour at the branch, a drive home, a frantic search for a single envelope with my birth certificate in it, a return to the branch about an hour later, another half-hour or so, and another drive home. The reason? Besides the "Real ID", it was because some a-hole with MY NAME IN ANOTHER STATE got his license suspended.

I recommend you search your state's BMV for required documentation, so you only have to make one trip to get your new driver's license!

Bill