# REAL-ID driver license question: New license number? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 26, 2019, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-id-driver-license-question-new-license-number/844007 "2019-11-26T09:22:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2019, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-id-driver-license-question-new-license-number/844007/41 "2019-11-28T09:44:07Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Well, it’s part of the California rules too, so there’s that. You can use a variety of documents – MUST BE ORIGINAL, NO PHOTOCOPIES – SS card, recent W-2 form, or for people getting Social Security, your SS-1099 form. Whatever form, it MUST show the ENTIRE number, not just the last four digits. One more restriction on the Social Security Card is it CANNOT be laminated. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-id-driver-license-question-new-license-number/844007/42 "2019-11-28T15:25:54Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I’m surprised they require you to confirm your social security number. Is that an element of Real-ID or a Texas thing? Washington too, so I suspect it’s a federal requirement. > [@](#): > > How your Social Security number is used > It’s used to help enforce child support laws. We’ll verify the number with the Social Security Administration. It won’t appear on your EDL/EID. [https://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/edlproof.html](https://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/edlproof.html) ---
**Author:** ![sps49sd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@sps49sd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sps49sd)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-id-driver-license-question-new-license-number/844007/43 "2019-11-30T04:36:40Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Check your state’s DMV website for the straightest dope. For Michigan, in addition to your old license, you’ll need a valid passport, certified birth certificate (with raised seal), or “approved citizenship or legal presence document.” I think some places require a proof or residency document. Power bill, rental agreement/ deed, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-id-driver-license-question-new-license-number/844007/44 "2019-11-30T06:52:57Z")
> [@sps49sd](#): > > I think some places require a proof or residency document. Power bill, rental agreement/ deed, whatever. This is largely the whole point of Real ID, to prove who you are and that you are a legal resident. So I’m sure EVERY state must have this requirement. In CA at least, and probably everywhere, these docs must be ORIGINAL, no photocopies accepted, and must show your RESIDENCE address. If you get your mail at a PO Box, the document must show your RESIDENCE address as well. I assume these rules are diktats from on high, and thus the same everywhere. I’m worried that the rules, as shown in the CA list of rules, are a bit ambiguous. I get all my mail at a PO Box. The “Address” sections of my electric and phone bills show my name and PO Box address. My residence address is shown elsewhere on the same page, under “Service Address”. I wonder if that is acceptable. Does anyone have California experience with this? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-id-driver-license-question-new-license-number/844007/45 "2019-12-01T00:04:10Z")
CORRECTION: Per California rules (which I suspect are the rules everywhere), your documents to prove SSN must be original, but your residency documents may be copies. My question about the ambiguity about PO Box addresses still stands. ---
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-id-driver-license-question-new-license-number/844007/46 "2019-12-01T01:18:59Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > The federal law banning the use of SSN for driver’s licenses was passed in 2005. I’m pretty sure MA stopped using them before that, so it’s been around 20 years. The last states dropped using SSN soon after 2005, so for some it’s been less than 15 years. You could request what the RMV called an “S number” that was not your SSN, but (interestingly enough) began with the letter “S” instead of a digit. I got an S number when I first got my license in 1994. You had to choose that as an option, though - otherwise they used your SSN. No idea when that changed. I moved to Rhode Island for a year or so in 2002-2003, then came back to Massachusetts. The RMV gave me my old driver’s license number when I switched back, so clearly they associated that number with me. Same number I have now with a Real ID license, too. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-id-driver-license-question-new-license-number/844007/47 "2019-12-01T07:54:58Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I’m worried that the rules, as shown in the CA list of rules, are a bit ambiguous. I get all my mail at a PO Box. The “Address” sections of my electric and phone bills show my name and PO Box address. My residence address is shown elsewhere on the same page, under “Service Address”. I wonder if that is acceptable. Does anyone have California experience with this? I don’t have personal experience with this, but I found this in the California rules. [https://realid.dmv.ca.gov/your-real-id-checklist/](https://realid.dmv.ca.gov/your-real-id-checklist/) > [@](#): > > To prove that you live in California, you must present TWO documents that contain your California mailing address. BOTH documents must show the applicant’s first and last name and the same mailing address that is listed on the driver license or identification card application. > > Use a P.O. Box? One document MUST have both the PO Box and physical (residence) address and one document may only contain the PO Box. So it sounds like your documents are okay if they contain both your PO box and your physical address. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-id-driver-license-question-new-license-number/844007/48 "2019-12-01T08:14:47Z")
My California DL of 50+ years and my new RealID version of two weeks bear the same number. The only change was to prefix the digits with a zero some decades back. > [@markn\_1](#): > > I don’t have personal experience with this, but I found this in the California rules. [https://realid.dmv.ca.gov/your-real-id-checklist/](https://realid.dmv.ca.gov/your-real-id-checklist/) > > So it sounds like your documents are okay if they contain both your PO box and your physical address. Correct. I took two utility bills with both POB# and road address. The driver’s manual was unclear about verifying the SSN but an annual SocSec statement did the trick. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-id-driver-license-question-new-license-number/844007/49 "2019-12-01T14:53:53Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Questions for those who have gotten your Real ID license: > (1) In your state, do you generally keep the same driver license number year after year forever? > (2) When you got your Real ID, did you get a new driver license number? 1. Washington State (which I think is where racer72 is from) did (kind of). I’d had the same license forever. However, it was derived from your name and birthdate (if your name changed, your license number changed - but for people who never had a name change, you could have the same license number for decades). One of the “party tricks” was being able to tell someone their DL# if you knew those things about them. So not the most secure number out there. (It was also useful for identifying fake licenses made by people who had not done enough research/pattern matching to know how to fake the number correctly.) 2. This year, I had to have my license renewed and they changed my number. It wasn’t tied to RealID (I didn’t get a RealID, though I probably should. My guess is that if I do get a RealID, I’ll keep this new, unfamiliar number.), they’re just doing it across the board for everyone who renews their license until they’ve replaced all the “old” numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-id-driver-license-question-new-license-number/844007/50 "2019-12-01T17:41:39Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I"m glad someone asked about Real ID, as I have another question. Is your old driver’s license sufficient proof of identity and residence for a born-in-the-USA citizen? Or do I need to bring my birth certificate, SS card, a utility bill from my current address, and affidavits showing my cats’ hat sizes? Completely dependent upon your state. Try Googling your state’s DMV + RealID, or Enhanced ID and a page [similar to this NYS DMV page](https://dmv.ny.gov/driver-license/federal-real-id) should be presented to you. A bit of a slog, but it clearly takes you through all iterations, choices and documentation demands of the NYS DMV. I downloaded the PDF for a Replacement, typed in my info, printed it and have my Driv Lic, Passport, W-2 and other stuff ready to go. Now I just have to have a free day and a good book to read… ---
**Author:** ![Taesahnim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taesahnim/32/84_2.png) [@Taesahnim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taesahnim)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-id-driver-license-question-new-license-number/844007/51 "2019-12-01T18:31:06Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > This post, from an unrelated thread, caught one or more of my eyeballs: > Questions for those who have gotten your Real ID license: > (1) In your state, do you generally keep the same driver license number year after year forever? > (2) When you got your Real ID, did you get a new driver license number? > > (I’m especially interested in the answer to Question 2 in California.) > > I’ve had the same DL number since 1968, and it appears to be a surprisingly low number (just 4 digits, \< 2000, not counting leading zero digits). Texas here. I just renewed and got my REAL Id star. No change in DL number. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-id-driver-license-question-new-license-number/844007/52 "2019-12-01T20:51:27Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Completely dependent upon your state. Try Googling your state’s DMV + RealID, or Enhanced ID and a page [similar to this NYS DMV page](https://dmv.ny.gov/driver-license/federal-real-id) should be presented to you. A bit of a slog, but it clearly takes you through all iterations, choices and documentation demands of the NYS DMV. > > I downloaded the PDF for a Replacement, typed in my info, printed it and have my Driv Lic, Passport, W-2 and other stuff ready to go. Now I just have to have a free day and a good book to read… Yes, I did that. Still have questions. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I’m \*\*not \*\*having trouble finding the list of documents. When I found the [list](http://www.dps.texas.gov/internetforms/Forms/DL-32.pdf), which is two and a half pages long and full of unfamiliar terminology, my questions about the requirements were still not completely answered. The list is daunting to look at, even for me, who spent a career reading and filling out government applications for funding. My mother would take one look at this and give up. The California link that you gave is presented in a more user-friendly format. > > Of course, this is Texas, so we don’t want to make it TOO easy for people, do we? Like you, I’ve gathered everything I can think of. Ready to seek an appointment tomorrow… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-id-driver-license-question-new-license-number/844007.md?page=2)