FYI, the Real ID FAQ on the Department of Homeland Security website says:
If an individual’s Social Security Administration account card is not available, what other documents can be used to verify an individual’s Social Security Number SSN?
The person may present any of the following documents bearing the applicant’s SSN:
A W-2 form,
A SSA-1099 form,
A non-SSA-1099 form, or
A pay stub with the applicant’s name and SSN on it.
Yep , at a couple of jobs- although I suspect it was mostly to make sure the number they had was correct. The last time I got a new job was in 1994, I’m sure that was before the SSN verification service began. And I needed it to get my enhanced driver’s license (not Real ID). A W2 with the full number might have been acceptable for the license,
That’s really only a problem with plane tickets - you might run into a problem if the name on the ticket doesn’t exactly match the ID you are using but I’ve gotten the impression that TSA agents have some leeway if , for example , they differ in what, if anything is there for a middle name ( full name , initial or nothing).
Since your passport and driver’s license seem to have different names , you’ll sort of have to decide which one you are using for ID when you buy the ticket.
How did you get he passport saying Puzzle Jane Doe Gal when your license says Puzzle D Gal ? My passport says Doreen I Lastname like my driver’s license even though the passport application had my full middle name , as did my birth certificate.
Dunno. I’ve had the passport decades longer than the driver’s license, as I’ve moved from state to state. The passport has had my full name since i changed it, after i got married. When i moved to this state they wouldn’t include a middle name.
Right, and none of mine included my full SSN, just the last four digits.
I have never in my life had to show it. When i was a teenager, i copied the number to a little piece of tagboard that i kept in my wallet. Then i lost the official card. I’ve had to tell people my SSN several times, but real id is the first time anyone tried to verify it.
Wouldn’t you just sign it with your signature? My signature is a distinctive scrawl that is reasonably consistent across documents, but you couldn’t figure out my name from it. It starts with my first initial, has my last initial, and then a special kind of squiggle.
Yeah, I was about to say, if the name you use in your signature matters, then I’m screwed, because mine is completely illegible (but remarkably consistent: The poll worker the last time I voted commented on it looking exactly the same as in their records).
And I lost my Social Security card several years ago, but I had made a scan of it before that happened, and every time since then that anyone’s asked for it (for a new job or for doing taxes), they’ve accepted the printout with no problems (it’s not even trying to look like a card; it’s literally on an 8.5x11 sheet with very wide margins).
OK, I checked mine; the paystub doesn’t have my SSN anywhere and the W2, 1099-DIV and 1099-INT are, like yours, blanked out except for the last four digits. I wonder if that would be enough.
That’s how I do it. Regardless of how my name is styled on the document (driver’s license, passport, contract, professional correspondence, etc.), my signature is always the same: “CSpoons.” The C is recognizable, the S also, the rest is a distinctive squiggle that ends with a flourish. Never had a problem.
I sign differently based on which name I’m using. 
It is easy to get a replacement SS card from the SS administration. So if anyone is concerned about having lost that thing years or decades ago, just fill out the form and they’ll mail you a new one.
My recollection is that some employers wanted to see the card as part of them completing the I-9 verification that you were legally allowed to work in the USA. The last time I was hired for a job was around 2003, so things may have changed since.
Not only do I sign differently depending on which version I’m using, my signature is legible . Which I think makes a big difference - if I sign with my first and last name on a document that has my middle initial , it will be obvious that I left out the initial. Not so noticeable if my signature is an illegible scribble.
True, but I remember that there’s a limit to the number of replacement cards you can request.
Ah. I have a passport. A passport is one stop shopping for proof of eligibility to work in the US.
That’s also why i don’t really need my driver’s license to be real ID. I just have to buy my ticket on the name on the ID i will be using.
But it’s a pretty high limit, like 10
I’ve always found that so absurdly random.
Life time limit! Ten! No more! We’re not made of money here at the SS administration - ten little paper cards per person and you should thank us for that!"
Funny. Have you ever tried to do that?
About as much fun as trying to call the IRS.
Having just turned 65 and retired I’ve called SSA three times in the last 6 months.
Was on a long hold then got an idiot once. Waited a couple minutes and got an OK worker once. Had no waiting and got a guru the third time. In all I’ve been impressed with their service.
Likewise with the service in person at the local office. If you show up with an appointment.