In Washington enhanced drivers licenses will qualify but not the normal ones.
Many of the “non compliant” states offer driving rights of undocumented immigrants.
The main purpose of these laws is safety. If more drivers are required to go through the necessary testing in order to be able to drive and buy insurance, the roads will be safer.
Unfortunately the “Real ID” act makes this impossible to comply with both desires. Some states like Washington erred on the side of the more likely danger.
It was not that they were slow in making changes, but that complying with the Real ID act will result in more hit and runs etc…
Where is it that the enhanced driver’s license is acceptable but not a passport card? TSA accepts the passport card as ID for boarding a domestic flight just like they accept enhanced driver’s licenses. But neither the passport card nor the enhanced drivers license is acceptable for entry into the US by air- they are only valid for entry by land or sea from Canada/Mexico/Bermuda/the Caribbean.
And as far as entering Federal facilities goes, they accept all sorts of Federally issued ID- from passports to passport cards to employee and military IDs. The whole REAL ID thing is about state-issued documents- the Feds can’t actually force the states to issue compliant documents but they can refuse to accept them. The Feds can, however, ensure that Federally issued ID is compliant.
I know a lot of articles say that if your state is not compliant, you’ll need a passport. But I suspect that’s at least in part because the existence of passport cards is not widely known and most people are not going to have any Federally issued ID except for maybe a passport.
Coincidentally, I got a notice that my driver’s license is up for renewal. Living in Minnesota and doing a lot of travel, I have my passport and passport card. Just in case though, I thought I might as well renew it and get the EDL or enhanced driver’s license. What’s interesting to me is that it took much less paperwork and proof to get my passport than it will to get my EDL. (PDF)
The vast majority of which aren’t something your average US citizen possesses, and a fair number aren’t even an option for a US citizen :dubious:
Sure, it’ll go in effect in January 2018. Or last March. Or last January. Or October of 2015. Or sometime before that. When they actually have a hard deadline, we’ll all die of shock.
My passport will be five years old this year. The passport card is some additional fee over & above the regular passport (I think $20 when I got it). In five years, I would only have been able to use it twice. I realize it’s only a nominal cost but why should I pay extra for something that has no real benefit to me. My passport is not as easy to carry as a passport card (larger & not as durable) or even in my house (safe deposit box). When I’ve used it, I’ve had luggage that I could slip it into so it didn’t get beat up or dig into my groin (if it was in a front pocket). I won’t have luggage, or possibly even a jacket if I need to go to a federal building.
Oklahoma is another state that passed a law prohibiting compliance with the REAL ID Act. Now we’re begging for another extension. Our situation might be different from most states because here you don’t get your license from the DMV, you get it from independent contractors called “Tag Agents”, from whom you also get your license tags. Since many of the REAL ID requirements deal with record keeping, getting all the agents to become compliant is going to be a challenge. Especially since we still have the non-compliance law on the books.
I also heard that native american IDs ARE compliant, but I’m not going to try and get on a plane and hope everyone is up to date on what is or is not acceptable.
Given how fantastically difficult it has now become to get a driver’s license, I would say the day is practically here.
For Americans living abroad, it is hell to help our kids get an American driver’s license. Although we are posted abroad and essentially live in Indonesia, our US home is in the State of Hawaii. But for our son to get a DL there was so much paperwork we nearly gave up. First, a parent had to sign an affidavit that he lived with us and at the identified HI address. Then, we had to provide something like 2 or 3 forms of ID and proof that we lived there, such as utility bills with our names on it, car registration with the correct address, and a mailed (not on line) bank statement. Given our part-time status and the fact we’d recently moved (and not updated our car registration address yet), and had limited time before departing again, it was quite tricky.
Then, they MAIL you the driver’s license to the address you have given them, but you can’t forward it - it will be returned to the DMV if it isn’t picked up, no forwarding allowed. And, it can take 2 to 4 weeks for the license to be mailed.
We managed - our son is now the proud bearer of a Hawaii DL - but had to go through this rigamarole multiple times as he first had to get a learner’s permit, which expired while we were abroad so we had to start over again, and then lather-rinse-repeat for the actual license.
I believe this is all due to Homeland Security rules, not the State of Hawaii. Our experience was not unique - last time I went to a “town hall” with our US Ambassador, numerous attendees were grumbling about how the required procedures discriminate against Americans who are no longer in the US full-time, but still maintain enough of a presence that they want things like driver’s licenses.
I just got my Hawaii DL last year, and I can tell you that even if you live here in the state and not abroad, you still have to show utility bills, bank statements etc. At least two sources with your name and address on them. I was very surprised. The wife too, when she went in just to get a state ID and not a DL, she also had to show her bank statement and our apartment lease. We both had to show Social Security cards, plus she had to show her green card.
As far as I know, DLs have never been allowed to be forwarded. They want to make sure you really live where you say you do.
Apparently, that requirement was invented by someone who never heard of on-line bill paying. A LOT of people no longer receive utility bills or bank statements via mail. I’m pretty Luddite in a lot of ways but even I get e-bills these days.
Amusingly, while my pilot’s license will allow me to actually fly an airplane, it will not allow me to board a commercial flight as a passenger.
It’s pretty common to for people to use utility bills as proof of residence, but there are usually other documents acceptable as well- mortgage documents, a rental lease, property tax receipt or assessment, a W2 or paystub with your name and address printed on it etc. . And at least some states accept printed ebills as proof of residence.
Well… don’t have a mortgage, and haven’t had a lease for a long time even if I have lived here 18 years (the landlord has occasionally given me a signed statement testifying how long we’ve been in residence but it’s not the same as a signed lease) and not being owners we wouldn’t have a property tax receipt or assessment. And I’ve been told by the DMV here they don’t accept printed e-statements. The ways it is set up here it is heavily biased against poor renters. And my utilities are included in my rent so I don’t have utility accounts.
Which is not to say it’s impossible - you could, of course, switch to paper statements for a bit to get the required document(s), for example - but I think a lot of folks are surprised by it not being as easy as getting a license in the past.
Funny thing is , I don’t think it’s any harder in my state than it was in the past. Which is not to say that it’s easy- just that a person in your situation (no mortgage, no property tax, no lease, no utility accounts) had a hard time of proving residence even 30 years ago
Yup - when the rule took effect, a lot of people around us (presumably full-time residents) were scratching their heads at the rules, and all the DMV folks were apologizing for the hassle.
It’s just that it is much harder if you are posted abroad. For example, utility bills might be in the name of a property manager or tenant. And a bank account is going to be managed on line, with physical statements (such as they are) possibly going to a mail drop that gets forwarded, rather than to a specific local address.
Eh, yes and no - 30 years ago all my bank statements came in the mail, my paystub wasn’t an e-document but still had my name and address, and government agencies seemed more flexible in what they’d accept.
Keep in mind, too, that when I moved here 18 years ago I didn’t have a trouble establishing residency even though I had no utility accounts and getting a state license.
Mandating mail, as in USPS delivered items, in an age of e-documents seems problematic to me.
I can understand that, but the problem is that many e-documents don’t prove where you live or even that you have any current connection to the address listed on them. An emailed utility bill at least proves that you are paying for service to a particular address and emailed mortgage bills or property tax bills at least prove that you own the property but my emailed bank statement could list an address where I haven’t lived in years. (since some of my bank accounts do not have an associated debit card that would be mailed- and you can’t always tell that from the statement) Accepting emailed bank statements is essentially the same as requiring no proof of residence- and I don’t see that happening. I suppose they could just go with mailing the license or ID or a notification that it is ready to pick up as proof of residence*- but that will still cause problems for some people.
which is what the library did last time I got a card. I filled out the application and showed my license as proof of residence and *then *had to wait to get a postcard saying that I could pick it up.
Bills including cable TV are included in our rent, so we don’t get any bills like that in the mail. All we have are bank statements and our lease agreement. If they needed anything else, we’d have been out of luck.
I can’t guess if you’ve obtained one of the new-style plastic wallet card licenses yet. In any case, a pilot license can’t serve as an ID card. In fact, I think the rule is, you have to carry your pilot license AND a proper ID card (typically a driver license) to be legal to fly.
The new card does come with a photo on it (it’s on the back side), but mine doesn’t look anything like me at all! :dubious:
There are actually two photos there, of Orville and Wilbur Wright.