Real ID

[Square Wheels]

I am due for a new driver's license in a few months.   They recommended getting a  Real ID.  Need to do that in person. 

Got here about 10 minutes early only to wait in the line for people with appointments.  Waited in line for 15 minutes just to get a number saying there are 22 people ahead of me. 

There are at least 100 people here.

My license may expire before I get service. 

Ugh

[Airehead]

I made an appointment last time because I needed the go to Canada easily license. With the appointment  my wait time was just 8 minutes. 

[Square Wheels]

I estimate I will be seen within an hour of my appointment time. 

[Bikeguy]

20 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

They recommended getting a  Real ID.  Need to do that in person. 

Just be sure you have ALL of the required documentation BEFORE you go.

WoBG went.... we thought she had all of the documentation.  She didn't.  She got the 'regular' driver's license.   

A few months later... I got to get my license renewed.  This time I got it correct.   I have my real ID.  

[Square Wheels]

I think I do, plus one extra in case one is rejected. 

[Zealot]

Ugh... 😑 

 

[2Far ★]

Just now, Square Wheels said:

I think I do, plus one extra in case one is rejected. 

Yeah, I carried a few extra things with me when I did it. It ended up being unnecessary.

[jsharr ★]

[Kirby]

I don't think I could make an appointment at the local DMV, but the line to get to the first window was about 20 minutes or so,  There was another, but shorter, line at each stage of the process (about 3-4 windows total).

I do give credit to one of the workers who was helping a guy who didn't have the right materials.  She was suggesting other things he could use and told him to skip the other lines and just come back to that window.  She was even suggesting things that people might be able to fax  to them if he could find someone to fax it.

I also found the DMV website had a good interactive tool for making sure you had the right materials to bring with you.

[Airehead]

@Square Wheels , are you back yet?

[maddmaxx ★]

I've had one for years.  I still have to renew in person.

[Tizeye]

2 hours ago, Square Wheels said:

I think I do, plus one extra in case one is rejected. 

Do you have your grandmother's notarized birth certificate? They don't tell you about that until you get up there. I forget if it is the maternal or paternal grandmother, but it doesn't matter. Which ever one you provide, they will tell you it is the wrong one.

[JerrySTL ★]

We were going to apply for the Illinois Real ID drivers license but the process is so onerous that I just gave up. Fortunately, WoJSTL and I have military IDs which meet the Real ID requirements. Plus we have valid passports.

[bikeman564™]

Michigan's Secretary of State office now has appointments. I was skeptical, but couple guys at work said its quick. They were correct. I was in & out, in about 20 minutes. I was amazed.

[Tizeye]

I was suckered into that Real ID fiasco. To save time, I renewed my DL online. Nothing noted at the time, but while it was offered, after a couple of years was required so I had to go in with a perfectly good DL, supporting documents, and to rub salt on the wound - pay the renewal fee again.

I learned to always get an appointment online as first time had the wait window to find out the projected hours to be called. I saw the system, left, and went online making an appointment for several days later. Seen within 5 minutes of appointment time. Did the same thing when paying property taxes and something else. It is the same building and waiting room...just called to a different window. The monitor screen just flips between the various services (DL, Tag, Property tax, Driving exam/testing, and I think some citizenship stuff) and you see where you are as your service screen comes up. 

[maddmaxx ★]

11 minutes ago, JerrySTL said:

We were going to apply for the Illinois Real ID drivers license but the process is so onerous that I just gave up. Fortunately, WoJSTL and I have military IDs which meet the Real ID requirements. Plus we have valid passports.

I sometimes wonder why I bothered with the real id as I have a passport which was one of the documents accepted for the real id.

[Longjohn ★]

I couldn’t find my social security card so I couldn’t get I real ID, So I just got a fake ID.

[Airehead]

11 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

I couldn’t find my social security card so I couldn’t get I real ID, So I just got a fake ID.

Getting a replacement social security card is a pain

[groupw]

I either has my Social Security or short form birth certificate and that was good enough for Nebraska at the time. When I got my AZ I had my passport. I agree that if I have my passport, why do I need both. But it guess if I forget my passport, I can still get on a domestic flight ok. 

[Square Wheels]

As a clever teenager, I decided to laminate my social security card, the darn thing needed to last my whole life.  I have no idea where I got access to a laminator in the 70s.

RMV will not accept laminated cards, I have to go back tomorrow with a W2.

Good news is the person I saw gets there before they open, the security guard was right next to us.  They agreed to let me in before the place opens so I don't need to wait in line.  I cannot believe how big that place was.

That last part felt odd as until that moment, she was your stereotypical RMV employee who seems like they work hard at being unhelpful and unfriendly.

[MickinMD ★]

I had to get my Real ID around Oct. 1, 2020 when my license expired.  It was delayed unti Oct. 3 because it was impossible to get an appointment. That was about 6 months after my house fire and, with the pandemic in full-swing,I had to go through hell to get the five documents they wanted.

Here's my report for Oct. 3, 2020:

! went through more "We don't know how to do this..." garbage today at the Motor Vehicle Admin. in Annapolis, but I came away approved for the Real ID and it will be mailed to me.

I asked, "Mailed?  I can't wait or return and get it here?  "No."

My heart sunk because I had learned, through my hassles getting the registration renewal license plate stickers and card a couple months ago, that the U.S. POSTAL SERVICE DOES NOT FORWARD MVA MAIL!!! even when you have a forwarding address listed with the Post Office

I pointed out to the MVA worker that my house had burned down, mail wasn't deliverable there, and I remembered saying no a few moments ago on the MVA screen that asked if I wanted to use a mailing address different than my residential address because I thought I was getting my license right then as I always had - they took my picture, etc.

The worker said she couldn't undo her own work, so I would have to go to a different window.  I waited and was called to a new window.

The new worker was surprised when I told her the Post Office won't forward MVA mail. She checked with other workers and found out I was right. She said I would have to go through the whole picture-taking, etc. and have my temporary (apartment) address put on my license, then change it back to my house address when I moved back in.  So we did a new picture.

"But," I asked, "Didn't I see a screen at the last window that would have allowed me to enter a mailing address that was different than my residential address?  Sometimes people ask for a driver's license as ID and I don't like the idea of having something other than my house address on it."

She didn't answer, thought for a while, then said, "You know what I can do?  I can list you as having a mailing address that's different from your home address and your license will have your home address on it and nothing about your temporary apartment."

I just answered, "Brilliant!  You're a lifesaving angel!"  I figured it didn't hurt to encourage her.

So, a couple minutes later I had my receipt ($48 charge, license good until 2028) and left the building with the smile of the saved and the thankful.

 

 

[Thaddeus Kosciuszko]

45 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

RMV will not accept laminated cards, I have to go back tomorrow with a W2.

Suppose you had cut the lamination away right in front of them, leaving you with the original un-laminated card.  Would they have accepted that? 

Or, put another way, since it would now be un-laminated, how could they refuse to accept it?

[Square Wheels]

1 minute ago, Thaddeus Kosciuszko said:

Suppose you had cut the lamination away right in front of them, leaving you with the original un-laminated card.  Would they have accepted that? 

Or, put another way, since it would now be un-laminated, how could they refuse to accept it?

I have never tried to remove it, I suspect the plastic has melted to the paper, maybe not?

[Parsnip Totin Jack ★]

47 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

As a clever teenager, I decided to laminate my social security card, the darn thing needed to last my whole life.  I have no idea where I got access to a laminator in the 70s.

RMV will not accept laminated cards, I have to go back tomorrow with a W2.

Good news is the person I saw gets there before they open, the security guard was right next to us.  They agreed to let me in before the place opens so I don't need to wait in line.  I cannot believe how big that place was.

That last part felt odd as until that moment, she was your stereotypical RMV employee who seems like they work hard at being unhelpful and unfriendly.

It’s really not that hard to be unhelpful and unfriendly. You’re old enough to know that by now. I make it my mission to thaw the most frozen people I meet. The 5% I can’t reach, i cripple with kindness. They pave their own path to hell. Like their mama, I tried. 

[Parsnip Totin Jack ★]

1 hour ago, Tizeye said:

Do you have your grandmother's notarized birth certificate? They don't tell you about that until you get up there. I forget if it is the maternal or paternal grandmother, but it doesn't matter. Which ever one you provide, they will tell you it is the wrong one.

That’s when it gets real. I tell them my grandma’s birth certificate is both maternal and paternal as they were first cousins on their mama’s side. It was legal then and you can’t deny my family relations while you give them the stink eye. They’re too scared of you by then to say no. They know that you’re prepared to escalate and they’re scared to go there. You win; real id level achievement. 

[Scrapr ★]

My DL renewed as the pandemic was starting.Oregon has delayed (and delayed) Real ID. Everytime it keeps getting delayed. I thought I was going to finally get it. Nope...DMV was going to be ready for Real ID 6 days after my birthday! So I'm just a regular schlub. i use my passport if I have to fly

[Longjohn ★]

3 hours ago, Airehead said:

Getting a replacement social security card is a pain

I found it the day after I got my fake I’d 

[jdc2000]

4 hours ago, Square Wheels said:

As a clever teenager, I decided to laminate my social security card, the darn thing needed to last my whole life.  I have no idea where I got access to a laminator in the 70s.

RMV will not accept laminated cards, I have to go back tomorrow with a W2.

Same requirement in my state.  This has to be one of the dumbest requirements ever.  The Social Security cards issued at the time were cheap cardboard.  They woudln't last 1 year in a wallet, or 10 years in a safety deposit box without being laminated, so everyone laminated them.

 

[maddmaxx ★]

6 hours ago, Longjohn said:

I found it the day after I got my fake I’d 

That is standard for lost items.  The fastest way to find one is to buy another.

[Prophet Zacharia]

I got a passport card in addition to a passport book when I renewed that. I therefore haven’t looked into the documents required for a Real ID. But I assume a Passport won’t suffice as evidence of who you are when you get a Real ID? I’ll have to eventually get a copy of my birth certificate?

[Square Wheels]

1 hour ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

I got a passport card in addition to a passport book when I renewed that. I therefore haven’t looked into the documents required for a Real ID. But I assume a Passport won’t suffice as evidence of who you are when you get a Real ID? I’ll have to eventually get a copy of my birth certificate?

For my state there was a long list of items.  I brought my passport, SSN card, a couple of bills, and a letter from the RMV.  That would have been more than enough if they had accepted my SSN card.  I need a document with my SSN< they said a recent W2 is good.  I'll go back this morning.

[Parr8hed]

You need the cats that run chick fil A to revamp your BMV. They have done wonders for Jesus chicken!  

[Prophet Zacharia]

16 minutes ago, Parr8hed said:

You need the cats that run chick fil A to revamp your BMV. They have done wonders for Jesus chicken!  

And a cold sweet tea would help the wait in line pass much more comfortably.

[Square Wheels]

11 hours ago, Thaddeus Kosciuszko said:

Suppose you had cut the lamination away right in front of them, leaving you with the original un-laminated card.  Would they have accepted that? 

Or, put another way, since it would now be un-laminated, how could they refuse to accept it?

Good idea, I just tried to free it, the plastic is melted to the paper.

I'll get a new SSN card.

[Kirby]

12 hours ago, Airehead said:

Getting a replacement social security card is a pain

I haven't actually tried this, so I don't know if it works, but if you have a my Social Security account, you can request a replacement card online: You also have to be in one of the "participating" states.  I don't know how a state qualifies to participate, but I'd guess it depends on if that state's drivers licenses meet the federal standards for identification.  New York is apparently a qualifying state.

 

Quote

 

You can request a replacement Social Security card online if you:

• Are a U.S. citizen age 18 or older.
• Have a driver's license or state-issued identification card from one of the participating states or the District of Columbia (to see if your state participates, go to www.ssa.gov/ssnumber).
• Have a U.S. mailing address (this includes APO, FPO, and DPO addresses).
• Have a my Social Security account.
• Don't require changes to your name, date of birth, place of birth, or gender.

 

[Square Wheels]

1 hour ago, Kirby said:

I haven't actually tried this, so I don't know if it works, but if you have a my Social Security account, you can request a replacement card online: You also have to be in one of the "participating" states.  I don't know how a state qualifies to participate, but I'd guess it depends on if that state's drivers licenses meet the federal standards for identification.  New York is apparently a qualifying state.

 

I went to apply for a new card last night, but the SSA sites uses 2FA.  They have my old phone number listed so I can't get in.  They are mailing me instructions on how to access the reset info.

I got my temp ID today, they mail the permanent one in a week or so.

I may never need my SS card again.

[Kzoo]

12 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

I may never need my SS card again.

Pffffft