# Where do you keep your driving license? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564 "2005-01-07T15:09:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/21 "2005-01-08T20:33:05Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Coming next, under the homeland security act: Your retina will be your universal national ID card. Officials will carry a scanner connected wirelessly to a database, making a driver’s license (and privacy) obsolete. Fine by me… one less thing to lose, one less fear for me (identity theft). ---
**Author:** ![partlycloudy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/partlycloudy/32/3114_2.png) [@partlycloudy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/partlycloudy)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/22 "2005-01-09T04:27:57Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > I’ve always kept my licences in my wallet. I have seen in American movies (Blues Bros comes to mind), a driver gets pulled over and he reaches up into a pocket behind the sun visor to take out his licence for the cop. Is this common practice? Do you leave it in there when you’re away from the car? Your Australian licenses/IDs sound similar to the ones in the US. Here, your drivers license is often used as an ID, so those who don’t have drivers licenses sometimes get state-issued IDs (that look a lot like a drivers license). I’ve never known anyone to keep his/her drivers license behind the visor of their car. I don’t think that’s a very safe option now, with all the identity theft stuff going on. I do know someone who has a “spare” in his glove compartment. I always get carded for stuff, so I like to have mine on me all the time. Sorry for my poor grammar in this post… argh. ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/23 "2005-01-09T05:16:33Z")
> [@butler1850](#): > > Fine by me… one less thing to lose, one less fear for me (identity theft). Biometric data won’t protect you from identity theft. It will prevent someone from using your stolen ID Cards, but won’t necessarily prevent them from getting their own (with their biometric data) in your name. Biometric data is useless without a big ol’ database that everyone can access to vet the IDs, and a big ol’ database that everyone can access to vet the IDs is going to be a wildly unpopular idea. But it will give everyone a feeling of false security, so when someone does steal your identity it will be that much harder to clean up the mess (since they had ID that “proves” you, and only you, made those purchases). I’ve had both laminated paper and plastic licenses. Both card sized. Both kept in my wallet. The current wallet has a little removable ID caddy that has my DL and Military ID (also had laminated paper and plastic versions)… which is pretty much useless since I’m almost always asked to take it out, whichever one I’m presenting. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/24 "2005-01-09T05:24:53Z")
Mine stays in my wallet unless I have to take it out for some specific reason. I’m about to get a new one, though, as my 21st is approaching and my old-style laminated photopaper license will be replaced by a shiny new UV-coated plastic license. My new one will look like this, except without the woman on it: [http://transportation.ky.gov/drlic/Images/newlook/KYDLnewsample4\_r1\_c1.jpg](http://transportation.ky.gov/drlic/Images/newlook/KYDLnewsample4_r1_c1.jpg) Can’t find a picture of the old KY license. We changed licenses right after I got mine, since the old KY license was apparently RIDICULOUSLY easy to forge. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/25 "2005-01-09T23:43:41Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > Mine stays in my wallet unless I have to take it out for some specific reason. > > I’m about to get a new one, though, as my 21st is approaching and my old-style laminated photopaper license will be replaced by a shiny new UV-coated plastic license. > > My new one will look like this, except without the woman on it: [http://transportation.ky.gov/drlic/Images/newlook/KYDLnewsample4\_r1\_c1.jpg](http://transportation.ky.gov/drlic/Images/newlook/KYDLnewsample4_r1_c1.jpg) > > Can’t find a picture of the old KY license. We changed licenses right after I got mine, since the old KY license was apparently RIDICULOUSLY easy to forge. I sure hope that’s just a specimen, and not really Ms Faith’s license. The name sound’s a little obvious, but you can never be sure with names. 😉 It doesn’t say “fake” across the front though, does it? Isn’t duplicating a drivers license a Federal Crime What kind of cigarettes should we send? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/26 "2005-01-09T23:56:48Z")
Mine stays in my wallet. I occasionally use it as a form of identification, but otherwise it rarely gets used. I hardly ever drive a car and I’ve never had to show it to the police. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/27 "2005-01-10T05:00:19Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > I have seen in American movies (Blues Bros comes to mind), a driver gets pulled over and he reaches up into a pocket behind the sun visor to take out his licence for the cop. Is this common practice? Do you leave it in there when you’re away from the car? It’s not the license, it’s the car’s registration. Many people have a little case clipped to the visor for this. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/28 "2005-01-10T10:41:56Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > It’s not the license, it’s the car’s registration. Many people have a little case clipped to the visor for this. That must work differently to here - keeping our registration documents with the car is a very bad idea, because they contain all the forms necessary for somebody to transfer the car to a new owner. Obviously this wouldn’t be legally-binding, but it would get very messy and complicated if a thief did this (in a false name, obviously) before the car was reported stolen. ---
**Author:** ![Honeydew\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e19b73/32.png) [@Honeydew\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honeydew_1)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/29 "2005-01-10T12:23:58Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > I’m amazed that Ireland hasn’t introduced credit-card-size ones - I thought the British ones were part of EU standardisation, as with passports. Ireland is not part of Britian… totally different country. As to the OP, I keep mine in my purse - its a wallet sized one that pretty much holds it except for a little bit at the top which I just folded over. As far as I know, the Gardai can ask you to produce your licence at any time so its best you carry it with you (which I why I carry it in my purse because I always have that with me). ---
**Author:** ![curly\_chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@curly\_chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curly_chick)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/30 "2005-01-10T12:58:57Z")
I normally keep mine in my car, as you are legally required to have it with you while you’re driving, in case the Gardai stop you for anything. I’ve never had to show it to them, though and the people who see my driving licence the most are the check-in people on the Ryanair desk. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/31 "2005-01-10T17:52:00Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > I sure hope that’s just a specimen, and not really Ms Faith’s license. The name sound’s a little obvious, but you can never be sure with names. 😉 > It doesn’t say “fake” across the front though, does it? > Isn’t duplicating a drivers license a Federal Crime > What kind of cigarettes should we send? Since the photo is linked to on the front page of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet webpage and resides on their server, I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet that it’s a specimen. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/32 "2005-01-10T20:38:38Z")
> [@Honeydew](#): > > Ireland is not part of Britian :rolleyes: I’m fully aware of that, thank you - I mentioned the British shift to card licences _as “part of EU standardisation”_, in case you didn’t notice. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/33 "2005-01-10T20:53:45Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > That must work differently to here - keeping our registration documents with the car is a very bad idea, because they contain all the forms necessary for somebody to transfer the car to a new owner. Obviously this wouldn’t be legally-binding, but it would get very messy and complicated if a thief did this (in a false name, obviously) before the car was reported stolen. The title (“pink slip,” although they’re no longer pink here) is distinct from the registration, and does indeed have a form on the back for transfer/sale. The registration is renewed every year, and shows who the registered owner is, and that the registration is current (i.e., that smog and insurance requirements have been met). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/34 "2005-01-10T22:37:55Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > The title (“pink slip,” although they’re no longer pink here) is distinct from the registration, and does indeed have a form on the back for transfer/sale. The registration is renewed every year, and shows who the registered owner is, and that the registration is current (i.e., that smog and insurance requirements have been met). Yep, it’s all different. The periodic elements here are the MOT (roadworthiness test, including emissions), and the annual road tax (which requires evidence of the MOT and insurance). The road tax is the one you have to prove at all times (by a ‘tax disc’ displayed in the windscreen). ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/35 "2005-01-10T23:59:45Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > It’s not the license, it’s the car’s registration. Many people have a little case clipped to the visor for this. Once upon a time your registration had to be visible from the outside of the car. Many people used a pocket with a clear plastic window that was made to strap onto the steering column. This practice ended in, I guess, the early-mid 50’s in CA. I was a little kid. Story is, anf it makes sense, that crooks would read your address on your registration when you went in to see a movie or some such and go rob your house. Yeah, The Good Old Days. Right. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/36 "2005-01-11T09:54:22Z")
> [@Honeydew](#): > > As to the OP, I keep mine in my purse - its a wallet sized one that pretty much holds it except for a little bit at the top which I just folded over. As far as I know, the Gardai can ask you to produce your licence at any time so its best you carry it with you (which I why I carry it in my purse because I always have that with me). Thanks (also to **SmackFu** and **Curly Chick** ) for confirming this. I do wish they would get a credit card sized one as it certainly doesn’t fit my “ladylike” purse. ---
**Author:** ![gfloyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d2c977/32.png) [@gfloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gfloyd)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/37 "2005-01-11T16:58:27Z")
Here in MA, the roadworthiness test you mentioned is a third document, this one in the form of a sticker adhered to the windshield. Registration in the glovebox, title at home in the safe, lincense in my wallet. I have an under 21 license (which is somehow good until I’m 22). I use it to get into clubs and that’s about it. When I go clubbing and don’t take a purse, the license (and usually my school ID and bank card) go in my pocket or into the wallent of one of the people I’m going with. In terms of using them at stores, I’m a clerk in a bookstore. We are required to ask for a photo ID when someone is writing a check, when their card isn’t signed or if the card asks us for one. Something I wish MA would do is to make the learner’s permit a card as well,l instead of a slip of paper that gets trashed quickly. I know Florida does it as a card, having seen them. This also makes them a more valid form of ID. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/38 "2005-01-11T23:51:31Z")
Well, if you don’t need the license for ID purposes, just pop it into your glove box along with your manual and other car-related paperwork. Then you don’t have to worry about it getting lost or damaged in the bag, and you’ve always got it if you’re driving your car. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/39 "2005-01-12T10:00:48Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > Well, if you don’t need the license for ID purposes, just pop it into your glove box along with your manual and other car-related paperwork. Then you don’t have to worry about it getting lost or damaged in the bag, and you’ve always got it if you’re driving your car. Yes, I did think of that but was a bit worried about people breaking into the car/stealing the car. Mind you, I think the risk of that happening might just be smaller than me loosing it. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564/40 "2005-01-13T00:21:13Z")
I used to leave my DL in my glove box. About 20 yrs ago a cop stopped me in Hayward, CA. After the usual greetings, he said he stopped me because I didn’t have an outside mirror on the right side of my _very_ old chevy pickup. I replied that I had one on the left and one inside and that was all that was required. There had been was one on the right as far as I knew. He went back to his car for a while, then returned, with an attitude, and asked for my DL. I reached for my glove box to get it and he almost “had a cow”, right there on the street. He insisted that I had to carry my DL in my wallet or pocket, and keeping it in my box was illegal. It must be in my possession, he said. I argued (giggling by now) that I was sure he was mistaken. Back he goes to his B&W, sits a while, then returns again and tells me to hit the road. I’m sure that if keeping my DL in the glove box were illegal I would have been in jail that night. After all that he didn’t see my license. :wally Bad night I guess. Glove box is good. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-keep-your-driving-license/283564.md?page=3)