For something that’s supposedly a Federal standard there sure seems to be a great deal of state-to-state variability on what they’ll accept as proof and how they’ll handle irregularities such as people who’ve used multiple names over their life for whatever combination of reasons.
ETA: Must type faster or use lots less words.
I would strongly recommend against that. I went to the DMV on a Saturday. It was the only office in Philadelphia where you could get a Real ID. I arrived half an hour before the office opened. There were roughly one hundred people already in line.
In the first line, an employee asked what you were there for and handed you a clipboard with the appropriate paperwork attached.
Then you went to the second line. Eventually, you got inside to a person at a desk who looked at the signed paperwork and gave you a ticket with a number on it.
Then, you sat down and waited for your number to be called. All of this took a bit over two hours.
When my number was called, i went to a counter and was aked to present documents proving my identity. If those documents were incorrect or inadequate, I have no doubt I would have been instructed on what documents I needed and sent home- after waiting over two hours.
I strongly recommend Czarcasm do everything he can to make sure he has all required documents and paperwork proving his neme before he goes to the DMV.
BTW, you may find it easier to get a passport.
In this case, I’m only going with what the Oregon DMV website says works for them. It’s pretty on ambiguous, which of course doesn’t mean that they can’t interpret it differently in the moment, but the checklist allows you to select that and proceed.
I clicked through the Oregon web page you posted and selected “current legal name does not match primary document”. The next page said that a current Oregon drivers license with your current legal name is an acceptable additional document. Also:
Do you have any military ID that has your current name? A military ID is also an acceptable additional document. In addition, if you keep clicking you get to a page where you give your SSN and they vailidate on the SSA system, expecting a match to your current legal name.
Seems like once you have your birth certificate take everything in and see what they say.
I think results will vary by state. In AZ Real ID is appointment only. I made an appointment, went at the appointment time, was at the desk with an agent withint five minutes of arrival, out in twenty or so - and that was to do both myself and Mrs. Martian.
In NJ they stopped officially allowing walk ins. I have heard it’s possible if they have last minute no shows. Making an appointment online is much easier. About a year ago my license was expiring and I decided to get the Real ID. Took me 15 minutes start to finish.
Those that waited and are trying to get it last minute are finding it hard to get an appointment.
This and our OPs issue is why a national voter ID card is such a bad idea.
I do not have my military id. In fact, everything(birth certificate, dd214, marriage license, etc ) was lost in the fire.
Unlikely. The State Department is going to require proof of citizenship. Your proof of citizenship, as someone born in the US, will be your birth certificate.
If you birth certificate doesn’t match the name you are seeking a passport under… you get the picture, right? And even if it were possible to get a passport under another name, I would be very concerned about having a passport that did not match my legal name, and the potential implications that could have both at home and abroad.
@Czarcasm, I am sorry you are having to go through this. When you get this resolved—whether it’s to change your legal name to match the name you are using, revert to your legal name, or something else—you should also take steps to ensure that other government agencies (like the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs) begin recognizing you under… whatever ends up on your ID (which would also, ideally be your legal name, whatever that ends up being).
FWIW, this is an issue I run into a lot with military veterans who were born in Spanish-speaking countries where, for example, it’s common to have two surnames, and then when they come to the US they casually drop the second surname (which is still on their birth certificate, and thus still a part of their full legal name), or else one of the surname gets turned into a middle name if they didn’t have one before.
Getting a copy of your DD214 is relatively easy. Make the request online.
I imagine that if you let folks know your family needs funds for replacing all of your vital identification, people would kick in.
It is not the money-it is the process itself.
The process bites, clearly.
I suspect that is referring to situations where your full legal name is First Middle Last, but your identity document only shows First M. Last or First Last, not “Primer Interior Ultima” (a completely different name). Because there’s also this:
DMV must be able to match your current full legal name with your identity document.
Really, truly, if you think there is a simple solution to this (simpler than reverting to one’s legal name or going to court and getting a legal name change) I fear you are going to be mistaken.
But, hey, if you’ve got the time (and possibly money, if the fee is non-refundable) who knows what they might do if you roll the dice with what you’ve got…
I am not an Oregon lawyer, this is not legal advice.
That’s why I ended my post with
I thought about not renewing my passport, but after looking at the mess involved in the Real ID, I changed my mind. Good luck.
That’s an understatement. Sometimes, an appointment opens up in Cape May or something, and then is immediately snatched up (not that I’m heading that far from Essex County – I’ll just use my passport until things really open up).
Passport renewals are pretty simple. I just did paperwork for my mother and did my own four years ago. If it’s lapsed (I think for five years or more), you have to apply as you would a new one and that takes a little more work, but is still just a matter of following directions and assembling paperwork. I did three of those within as many years.
I never had a passport at all, though.