# How do people in the public eye deal with the DMV (or your state's equivalent)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Tags:** kamala-harris\ **Created:** [October 21, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024 "2024-10-21T16:16:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/1 "2024-10-21T16:16:24Z")
Partly inspired by [this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-department-of-motor-vehicles-deserve-its-terrible-reputation/1008977/59). How would someone who is likely to be instantly recognized and/or swarmed with fans (or haters) deal with having to go to the DMV to renew their driver’s license (assume it absolutely positively can’t be done online)? Does Tom Cruise make a special appointment? Does Kamala Harris show up with her security detail? Or do they just tough it out with the hoi polloi and hope for the best? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/2 "2024-10-21T17:21:55Z")
One thing I am pretty sure of is that it will vary from place to place. I am pretty sure that in NYC there would be no special treatment except perhaps for those with Secret Service protection - this is a place where celebrities show up and sit in the jury duty pool all day with everyone else. But that doesn’t mean it would be the same in LA or even a small town in upstate New York. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/3 "2024-10-21T17:34:00Z")
It’s almost thirty years old but [this Los Angeles Times article from February 1995](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-02-05-we-28195-story.html) says that celebrities received no special treatment from the DMV office. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/4 "2024-10-21T17:56:37Z")
It probably also helps that a lot of celebrities use stage names. So when Tom Cruise goes to the DMV, he’s not going as Tom Cruise. He’s going as Thomas Mapother (his birth name), and hoping that no one realizes who he is (while probably also sporting a standard ball cap and sunglasses-type of disguise). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/5 "2024-10-21T18:07:19Z")
Though I found one site showing a photo supposedly of one of the Kardashians at the DMV with hair and makeup people to get her ready for her photo. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/6 "2024-10-21T18:08:41Z")
I guess it depends on the local. Where I live, just south of Nashville, you often see famous people doing everyday things. You just let them get on with their errands. A couple of weeks ago I saw Keith Urban bagging his groceries (or something - I didn’t look) at the Walmart. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/7 "2024-10-21T18:27:27Z")
I imagine it comes down to what things your PA can do and what you need to do on your own. The PA may be able to renew car registration but not a driver’s license when a new photo is needed. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/8 "2024-10-21T18:44:22Z")
I was about to say the same thing, and I’m sure it also varies by state, so for example here in Colorado you can have a _limited_ Power of Att’y for certain DMV issues: > **[DR2175.pdf](https://dmv.colorado.gov/sites/dmv/files/DR2175.pdf)** New registration (including temporary), title (new and duplicate), transfer ownership, record or release a lien, copy of a MVR, Disability parking placard. Plus, with some DMV’s (including ours) moving to appointment requirements, I’m sure there’s _less_ overfilled rooms with many eyes a-gawkin’. Or, as mentioned in our other recent DMV thread, I’m sure they may also avail themselves of smaller, out of the way DMVs. When I got my initial registration years ago, there was the “metro” DMV that was always packed, but 15 miles away in the nearby hamlet as it were, it was nearly empty. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/9 "2024-10-21T18:54:16Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > The PA may be able to renew car registration but not a driver’s license when a new photo is needed. But even then, I’m guessing that your personal assistant can save you a lot of hassle. He could do half the work: take a number, stand in line for you, submit the forms, and only call you when they need to take your photo or check your vision. Meanwhile the celeb waits anonymously outside. So his total “face time” in the DMV office would be a few minutes. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/10 "2024-10-21T19:05:50Z")
Other than people who enjoy driving or racing as a hobby, how many celebs drive themselves? That’s for the proles. Taking the subway, sure, but sitting behind the wheel in traffic? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/11 "2024-10-21T19:15:09Z")
I think fewer rich people ride in chauffeur-driven cars than you might imagine. Most probably drive themselves for the most part. I read someplace that in the early twentieth century, one reason for a full-time chauffeur was that cars of that time required so much regular maintenance. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/12 "2024-10-21T20:38:18Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > I was about to say the same thing, and I’m sure it also varies by state, so for example here in Colorado you can have a _limited_ Power of Att’y for certain DMV issues: > > [https://dmv.colorado.gov/sites/dmv/files/DR2175.pdf](https://dmv.colorado.gov/sites/dmv/files/DR2175.pdf) > > New registration (including temporary), title (new and duplicate), transfer ownership, record or release a lien, copy of a MVR, Disability parking placard. In many states, including this one, there are private services that will do this for anyone. For a fee that’s not so bad if you’re just a busy person with no celebrity aspect. Stop by their office to give them your documents, sign a limited POA form, and one fo their runners goes and stands in the DMV office line for you. (Or more accurately, uses their standing appointment reservation). Heck, you can probably even hire these people online and skip ever visiting them; just send them scans of all the paperwork, wave your credit card at them and the problem is over. I just bought a car from a dealership. One of the many documents I signed was a limited POA to let them register and title the car at the DMV for me. As a dealer, they do all that interface with the DMV online including issuing me a temporary plate. That’s not special service; they do that for every car they sell, new or used. Sadly, I bought the car in a different state from home and had it delivered here. So my first trip with my shiny new car and shiny new temporary plate and ink-still-wet registration was to go hang out in person at the local DMV to exchange all that out-of-state paperwork for local in-state stuff. Oh well. At least I had an appointment and as said up-thread the process was as painless as government can be. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/13 "2024-10-21T21:17:20Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I guess it depends on the local. Where I live, just south of Nashville, you often see famous people doing everyday things. You just let them get on with their errands. It’s the same in LA/Hollywood. Nobody with business at the Santa Monica Blvd DMV in Hollywood is going to lose their shit if a celebrity is standing in line with them. It’s not like star struck tourists would have any reason to go there. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/14 "2024-10-21T21:56:55Z")
In California, there’s a DMV located within the state capitol, for the use of the senators and other folks. I’ll bet you a doughnut there’s a “concierge” branch of the DMV located in Hollywood to service the needs of such people. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2024, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/15 "2024-10-23T13:54:57Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Other than people who enjoy driving or racing as a hobby, how many celebs drive themselves? That’s for the proles. Taking the subway, sure, but sitting behind the wheel in traffic? Cameron Diaz, for one. She was on _Top Gear_ years ago, defending her Prius from Jeremy Clarkson’s teasing. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2024, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/16 "2024-10-23T14:56:59Z")
Given the stories about celebrities getting caught drunk driving (e.g., Justin Timberlake in New York in June), my guess is that most celebrities drive themselves than ride in the back seat all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/17 "2024-10-23T16:34:44Z")
> [@Noelq](#): > > In California, Does AAA still do a lot of DMV stuff in California? I used to always go there for registration, plates, TripTiks, &c. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2024, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/18 "2024-10-23T17:02:46Z")
Yep. I’ve never used it, but I know they have the kiosks there. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2024, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/19 "2024-10-23T17:23:50Z")
They are getting those kiosks in some groceries stores in Colorado to re-register your car. Unused all except the last 3 days of the month when there are a dozen people in line. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2024, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024/20 "2024-10-23T18:24:58Z")
Those… offend me. The surcharges for service from the kiosks are insane, so, yeah, they prey on those who put things off to the last minute. If you’re doing things even in a vaguely timely manner, you can do most of it online for that matter. Of course, they may be people who don’t have access, or are just not _comfortable_ renewing their license, or registration online. I shouldn’t automatically judge them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-in-the-public-eye-deal-with-the-dmv-or-your-states-equivalent/1009024.md?page=2)