New Florida driver's license rules frustrate a confused publicThis can be a real nightmare for some people, especially low income people who do not happen to have fixed addresses.
By Leonora LaPeter Anton, Times Staff Writer
Friday, February 26, 2010
The new rules are part of a federal law called Real ID, which Congress passed in 2005 out of concern that drivers' licenses were too easy to get.
The law is controversial and many states have rejected it as too costly to implement. Florida, where some of the Sept. 11 attackers got drivers' licenses, is among the first states to comply.
To get a state ID or driver's license, even if it is a renewal or replacement, you must come in armed with your original birth certificate or passport, Social Security card and two items mailed to you that contain your address.
If your name has changed because of marriage or divorce, you must provide certified copies proving it.
…
But just as often people are confused, and don't know what to do.
Like the woman born in 1951 whose birth certificate was destroyed in a hospital fire and couldn't be found in state archives.
And the construction superintendent on the Interstate 4 Connector project and his wife. They left their birth certificates and marriage license in a safe deposit box back in Missouri.
Or the high school math teacher who insisted her 1958 birth certificate, also from Missouri, was the original.
…
"I've been here for over 20 years," Curtiss said, "and I can't get my license renewed because I don't have a birth certificate."
In Florida, this is what the article said is required to get your driver’s license…
What the new law requiresOn blog I once read what a person had to do to her driver license when her purse was stolen. The state she lived in also required a birth certificate and the state she was born in required her to be in person to get a copy of the birth certificate. However, she lived in another state and had to fly back to her home state, but she couldn’t fly because she didn’t have a driver license for ID to get on the plane. So, she had to bring a friend along who could vouch for her identity and fly back to her home state. Her troubles were not over yet because her home state required a driver license to obtain a copy of her birth certificate. Her friend had to fill out an affidavit swearing she was who she said she was. How many people could afford to fly back with a friend to get their birth certificate?
To get a new ID or driver's license, here's what you need:
One of the following:
A certified United States birth certificate (hospital birth certificates are not accepted); a valid U.S. passport; a consular Report of Birth Abroad; a certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570); or a certificate of Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561).
One of these to prove your social security number:
W-2 form; paycheck; or any 1099 form.
Two items showing your home address:
Many documents are acceptable, from a mortgage statement or voter ID card to a utility bill or a car insurance policy.
Can I renew online?
You must visit an office to get a new driver's license:
•If you are applying for your first driver license or identification card
•When your current credential expires and you have already used the one-time "convenience" renewal option
•If you legally change your name (eg: by marriage or divorce)
If none of these apply then you can renew your license online, or by mail.
Still confused?
Go to gathergoget.com to do a customized search to find your exact requirements.
They want a copy of your W-9 or 1099, what happens if you are unemployed and living in a homeless shelter? What happens if you do not pay utility bills or own a house?
How many low income or elderly people will be denied driver licenses because they will not be able to get the proper ID. How many people will be denied the right to vote because they do not have a driver license?
The REAL ID Act protects no one, but disenfranchises many.
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