So I am following procedure to get my birth certificate from Guam, which means I have to snailmail a $5 money order to them and wait. The trouble is that this birth certificate will have the last name from my first father, which will definitely not match up with the last name I have used for most of my life which I got from my second father. What further step(s) might I have to take to get my Real ID?
BTW, I live in Oregon, and here are the requirements to get a Real ID: DMV2U - Oregon Real ID Requirements Guide
I don’t have any of the items on the list, so the birth certificate is my one chance.
Is the name you currently use your actual, legal name that you legally changed it to at some point?
FWIW, when I click on “My full name isn’t on my identity document” it tells you to bring in one of these as well:
Oregon driver license, instruction permit, or identification card, expired no more than one year.
Out-of-state driver license, expired no more than one year.
Tribal ID card issued by a federally recognized tribe location in Oregon or with an Oregon affiliation, approved by DMV.
Oregon Concealed Weapon Permit/Concealed Handgun License, expired no more than one year.
Military ID card, Common Access card, Uniform Services ID & Privilege card including all branches of military
personnel and dependents, not including Merchant Marines.
Canadian government issued birth certificate.
An official government issued marriage certificate/license.
A U.S. city, county or state court-issued legal name change decree.
A record of Domestic Partnership issued by Oregon Vital Statistics.
An out-of-state government issued record of Domestic Partnership.
A U.S. city, county or state court-issued divorce decree; judgment of dissolution of marriage, annulment of
marriage decree, judgment of dissolution of domestic partnership, or annulment of domestic partnership.
A government-issued death certificate of a spouse which includes a connection to your current full legal name.)
A U.S. city, county or state court-issued adoption decree.
A U.S. city, county or state court-issued custody decree or guardianship decree.
You might be best off setting up an appointment so you can talk to someone about your specific situation.
It says “If the document you bring does not have your current legal name, you will need to bring official documents that show any name changes.”
So do you have (or can get legally certified copies from the courts or vital records office) court-ordered name change documents - If you legally changed your name through the courts or adoption papers - If you were legally adopted by your second father?
Yes, the fact the last name you’ve been using does not match what is on your birth certificate WILL BE A PROBLEM.
Did your second father ever formally adopt you? Do you have a copy of those court papers showing your name change? You will need to bring that with you to show why your current name does not match the one on your birth certificate.
If he did not formally adopt you, you just started using his name, then the government will say "That’s not your name, THIS is your name: [Name on your birth certificate] and will issue you your RealID with that name and not the one you’ve used your entire adult life. This will also occur if you do not have a copy of court proceedings showing a formal change of name.
If you are not happy with that arrangement you will have to formally and legally change your name. Exactly how to go about that may vary by state, but it will cost you money and time.
In my fair state of Indiana it’s about $700 and six months.
Good luck.
No, I was not formally adopted. Yes, I have a current driver’s license with the name I now use.
Agreed. My son originally had his mother’s surname but we legally changed it when he was ~12 years old. When he went to get his Real ID, they took one look at his birth certificate and current license and told him to come back when he could show when the change happened. Fortunately, I had kept copies of the court documents (I didn’t know he was going that day or else I’d have preemptively handed them to him) and he was able to make another appointment and get it taken care of. But, without those documents, it was a hard stop.
In the case of the OP where no legal name change occurred, I would expect more than one visit between determining what they need and then getting it.
If you never had a legal proceeding to change your name, to the best of my understanding (as someone who did, in fact, have to go to court to get MY name straightened out), you have two choices:
- Accept a RealID in your birth name
- Go to court to formally change your name to the one you’ve been using all along.
Even though I enlisted under my current name, got a driver’s license under my current name and got married (twice!) under my current name?
Yes.
I would up with the document allowing me entry into an airport and the document allowing me to fly an airplane having two different names. I mean, you’d think the name the Federal government had for me as a pilot, in a database that was scrubbed multiple times since 2001 for “terrorists”, would be acceptable but no, it wasn’t.
I was told the name I had been using for 30+ years as my legal name was “invalid”.
The government no longer cares about history. Either your name is what’s on your birth certificate or you have to provide a legal document of a legal name change.
I was also told that while they’d accept a woman changing her last name after a marriage they wouldn’t accept a man doing so, but that could just be living a Red state.
Sorry.
You might call around–PCC, OSU or similar–and find out if there’s a free legal aid consultant who’s familiar with Oregon’s specific requirements.
This page might be useful for legal change of name: Oregon Judicial Department : OJD Guide & File : Online Services : State of Oregon, but I don’t have time at the moment to go through it all.
When I changed my name a few decades ago, it cost $70 in my state of residence. It’s now $165 for a simple legal change of name. My birth certificate doesn’t match my legal name, so I have certified copies of the decree ($25 a copy from my then-state). When I got my passport and Global Entry, nobody cared. Social Security and my then-state’s DMV cared. When I got my NEXUS, the interviewer asked about the discrepancy and I showed my certified copy. It’s tedious at times, but worth the minor outlay and inconvenience to be able to show a legal paper trail.
I don’t suppose you have a passport? You don’t need a birth certificate of you have a passport.
No passport.
Not that this helps but what name is on your Social Security Card.
The latter name… But my SSCard is not on the list of approved documentation.
If I were you I’d go to the DMV with all the paperwork I have and see what they say.
According to the list at the link you provided and that @Joey_P quoted, a driver’s license with the full name you are using seems to be good enough.
Almost certainly not.
I had a valid driver’s license with the name I’d been using for 30+ years and it wasn’t good enough.
Sure, the OP can go down to the DMV, but he should be prepared for maybe needing a legal name change. Or else changing everything else in his life to what’s on his birth certficate.
States differ in their Real ID requirements.