Getting a Real ID drivers license?

[crazyfingers]

Has anyone gotten one yet? There are a lot of document requirements. In particular 9 digit Social Security number. I can't find my card. I got it 57 years ago. My W-2 is proof of SSN but does anyone know if the service center makes copies or just views to confirm the SSN? If they make copies of all of the documents needed, I see a real opportunity for someone to use them for identity theft.

 

[J842P]

Has anyone gotten one yet? There are a lot of document requirements. In particular 9 digit Social Security number. I can't find my card. I got it 57 years ago. My W-2 is proof of SSN but does anyone know if the service center makes copies or just views to confirm the SSN? If they make copies of all of the documents needed, I see a real opportunity for someone to use them for identity theft.

I assume this is state by state, but in California, they didn't make copies, just used then to confirm.

 

[crazyfingers]

Mass RMV has no live person to answer questions. I finally got through to AAA who acts as a RMV location for drivers licenses in Massachusetts. After 30 minutes on hold someone finally answered and said that they scan all of the stuff and then send to Homeland Security. I don't like that.

I'm leaning towards not getting a Real ID and just making sure I always have a valid passport.

 

[J842P]

Mass RMV has no live person to answer questions. I finally got through to AAA who acts as a RMV location for drivers licenses in Massachusetts. After 30 minutes on hold someone finally answered and said that they scan all of the stuff and then send to Homeland Security. I don't like that.

I'm leaning towards not getting a Real ID and just making sure I always have a valid passport.

Well, maybe they did, actually, I just didn't register it. I share your concern, but what the hell am I supposed to do? I need a Real ID.

I've bought some credit-monitoring services lately.

 

[Worldtraveller]

I have a passport. Always have.

I usually carry it with me, even.

I did get the updated AZ DL in 2016, and I will probably not get a UT DL (AZ doesn't expire until 2033).

 

[crazyfingers]

If you don't have a Passport, I guess you need real-ID.

I don't recall what it took to get my first Passport like 30 years ago. I don't recall it being anywhere as difficult as getting this real-ID.

Speaking of credit-monitoring, when Equifax had their massive data breach, and later when my employer told us that the W-2s for all US employees had been hacked and stolen, I did some credit monitoring, notified the IRS of possible fraud, and froze my credit reports with the three credit reporting agencies. Now I tried to go on-line to order a new SS Card and I can't because they can't access my credit reports.

All this crap is too much.

 

[southernhybrid]

We've had to do this in Georgia for several years. The last time I renewed my license, I had to bring my birth certificate and at least one other form of ID that proved where I lived. They accepted things like a utility bill or most anything that had your name and address on it. I don't think I had to show my SS card, although I had a new one made when I married my current husband. I keep it in my bank vault along with any other important documents that might be lost if my home caught on fire or something like that.

As far as identify theft goes, in Ga. we can't even see a doctor without showing an ID. My dentist wanted my SS number but I left that blank on the form I was given. I guess they want in case someone doesn't pay their bill. I always pay when the same day as my appointment, so if they hassle me about that, I'll explain that they don't need that number.

We've had to show ID to vote here for about 15 years. Since almost everyone here has either a driver's license or a state ID, I don't think it's kept people from voting, although I don't think it should be required. Our Republican leaders have come up with all sorts of creative ways of keeping minorities from voting. It's disgraceful.

I don't think it's a bad idea to require a photo on a driver's license, but it's absurd to requires that you provide so much documentation when you've had a license in a state for many years.

And, I agree this is crap. We had our credit report frozen many years ago. We don't need any credit to buy anything anymore.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Has anyone gotten one yet? There are a lot of document requirements. In particular 9 digit Social Security number. I can't find my card. I got it 57 years ago. My W-2 is proof of SSN but does anyone know if the service center makes copies or just views to confirm the SSN? If they make copies of all of the documents needed, I see a real opportunity for someone to use them for identity theft.

Here they simply looked.

And you can get a replacement card from social security. (Although they limit you to 10 replacements in a lifetime.) I do not believe your W-2 counts as proof of your SSN. Look over the I-9, you don't actually have to prove your SSN. The usual means of satisfying the I-9 requirements is driver's license and SS card and most of the others are special cases. However, there's one document that satisfies both columns--a US passport. All the form actually asks for is something in each column, it does not require that you provide two documents. (Although it took me a while with the woman from HR to get her to understand this. She was so used to two documents she didn't realize the form doesn't say that. I've had more passports than I've had jobs in my life and use those passports more, also--which document do you think I can lay my hands on faster? I'm not sure but it very well might be that getting my RealID was the first time I ever actually used my SS card.)

Note that your SSN does not appear on your passport, thus the number on your W-2 isn't validated. (It may be validated by e-Verify, and if your employer submitted documents to the IRS with a wrong number in time they would yelp. However, if you were hired late in the year from a small company it would be quite possible to have a W-2 that had a wrong number without it being caught before the W-2 was issued.)

 

[Loren Pechtel]

If you don't have a Passport, I guess you need real-ID.

I don't recall what it took to get my first Passport like 30 years ago. I don't recall it being anywhere as difficult as getting this real-ID.

They have gotten a lot more strict about ID these days. I think there was almost nothing required when I got my first passport more than 40 years ago, since then my old passport has sufficed to get a new one, no additional documentation. It was a bit over 20 years ago when my wife got her first US one and IIRC that only took her naturalization certificate.

If you're going to skip the Real-ID, get a passport card. IIRC it's $30 for 10 years. It's not too useful for travel as it can only be used IIRC at the land borders of Canada and Mexico, but it's just as good as a passport for ID purposes and has the added benefit that it doesn't have your address on it--you're not saying "hey, there's nobody at xxxx addresss!" when you use it. Also, it's the same size as the other cards in your wallet and it's hard plastic--much easier to carry and more durable than a normal passport.

 

[crazyfingers]

If you don't have a Passport, I guess you need real-ID.

I don't recall what it took to get my first Passport like 30 years ago. I don't recall it being anywhere as difficult as getting this real-ID.

They have gotten a lot more strict about ID these days. I think there was almost nothing required when I got my first passport more than 40 years ago, since then my old passport has sufficed to get a new one, no additional documentation. It was a bit over 20 years ago when my wife got her first US one and IIRC that only took her naturalization certificate.

If you're going to skip the Real-ID, get a passport card. IIRC it's $30 for 10 years. It's not too useful for travel as it can only be used IIRC at the land borders of Canada and Mexico, but it's just as good as a passport for ID purposes and has the added benefit that it doesn't have your address on it--you're not saying "hey, there's nobody at xxxx addresss!" when you use it. Also, it's the same size as the other cards in your wallet and it's hard plastic--much easier to carry and more durable than a normal passport.

Good idea about the passport card. Yes renewing a passport is easy so long as the current on is still valid and i need to renew in 2021. I'll get a card too. I will continue to need the passport book for some time yet due to my travels to Asia for work.

 

[crazyfingers]

Has anyone gotten one yet? There are a lot of document requirements. In particular 9 digit Social Security number. I can't find my card. I got it 57 years ago. My W-2 is proof of SSN but does anyone know if the service center makes copies or just views to confirm the SSN? If they make copies of all of the documents needed, I see a real opportunity for someone to use them for identity theft.

Here they simply looked.

And you can get a replacement card from social security. (Although they limit you to 10 replacements in a lifetime.) I do not believe your W-2 counts as proof of your SSN. Look over the I-9, you don't actually have to prove your SSN. The usual means of satisfying the I-9 requirements is driver's license and SS card and most of the others are special cases. However, there's one document that satisfies both columns--a US passport. All the form actually asks for is something in each column, it does not require that you provide two documents. (Although it took me a while with the woman from HR to get her to understand this. She was so used to two documents she didn't realize the form doesn't say that. I've had more passports than I've had jobs in my life and use those passports more, also--which document do you think I can lay my hands on faster? I'm not sure but it very well might be that getting my RealID was the first time I ever actually used my SS card.)

Note that your SSN does not appear on your passport, thus the number on your W-2 isn't validated. (It may be validated by e-Verify, and if your employer submitted documents to the IRS with a wrong number in time they would yelp. However, if you were hired late in the year from a small company it would be quite possible to have a W-2 that had a wrong number without it being caught before the W-2 was issued.)

Massachusetts rules for Read ID are different. I need

One document that proves i have the right to be here - passport
One document to prove my 9 digit SSN and my W-2 shows that.
Two documents that show my address as in two utility bills.

My W-2 also shows my address but the rules are that no single document can be used to prove 2 requirements.

I know i can get a replacement SS card but i can't request it on-line unless I want to go to the trouble of unlocking my credit reports at Equifax, et al. I need to visit a SS office in person and i don't need either bother.

The Irony is that Mass drivers licenses used the SSN as the license number for many years until they quit when identity theft became an issue. So somewhere the DMV already knows my SSN. I had to have proved that when i got my first license.I still have an old drivers license that has my SSN on it

 

[Keith&Co.]

but the rules are that no single document can be used to prove 2 requirements.

That one always gets me. We can completely trust this document, but only SO far...

It's like cops trusting a snitch to turn in one criminal, but if he witnesses two crimes, his credibility is shot. I sometimes wonder if I can take the document back, hold it below the counter, bring it back up in my other hand and offer it as a new document...

On the other hand, I offer up my retired-military ID for all travel, so I haven't bothered with a RealID yet. "Never mind Mass, the FEDS say I'm who I say I am..."

 

[southernhybrid]

The Irony is that Mass drivers licenses used the SSN as the license number for many years until they quit when identity theft became an issue. So somewhere the DMV already knows my SSN. I had to have proved that when i got my first license.I still have an old drivers license that has my SSN on it

Georgia did the same thing when I first moved here in the 90s. Then they made it optional and finally they did away with using the SS number. I had renewed online prior to my last renewal and then it got crazy.

I had to do the same thing when I renewed my nursing license in 2017. I had a license in Georgia for about 20 years, but suddenly, I had to provide all kinds of documentation to prove I was a citizen. I've been licensed as an RN in different states since 1976.

And if you didn't know, Medicare finally stopped using the SS number on our cards. SS numbers were never supposed to be used an IDs for anything, and we all know what happened when they started being treated as ID numbers.

My dentist asked for my SS number last during my last appointment, but I refused. I've used the same dental practice for almost 20 years, and always paid on the same day as the service was rendered, so why in the world does my dentist suddenly need my SS number?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

but the rules are that no single document can be used to prove 2 requirements.

That one always gets me. We can completely trust this document, but only SO far...

It's like cops trusting a snitch to turn in one criminal, but if he witnesses two crimes, his credibility is shot. I sometimes wonder if I can take the document back, hold it below the counter, bring it back up in my other hand and offer it as a new document...

On the other hand, I offer up my retired-military ID for all travel, so I haven't bothered with a RealID yet. "Never mind Mass, the FEDS say I'm who I say I am..."

It's about making a lot harder to commit identity theft by stealing one document.

 

[Shake]

Here in (upstate) NY they have long offered an enhanced DL with which one could travel (drive) into Canada without a passport, and I'd considered getting one for a while when I then heard about these. As it turns out though, our friends' middle daughter is getting married in Greece next summer and we're planning on going, so will likely get passports later this year (or early next year) sometime.

Also, relating to the SSN as identification, I understand that the military used to have a unique "service number" but during the time I was in (1993-2001) they used our SSN for identification, despite, as others have already said, them not originally intended to be used that way. We had a shredder in our area which was rated for classified destruction, so whenever I wanted to get rid of documents with my SSN or other personal information, I'd use that.

 

[Treedbear]

When I needed to renew my drivers license last month I was given the option of getting the "verified" version. Apparently it will be needed for domestic air travel by about 2020. Turns out they didn't like my birth certificate. It needed to be notorized and not just issued by a hospital. So that means another fee for getting that issued, and another fee if I want the convenience of applying online to get it faster, and another fee if I want it in a hurry but without any guarantee on how long that will actually take, plus another fee to to the DMV to issue a new license. So I'll be mailing in the application which can take 12 weeks to turn around. I don't fly often and actually hope I never need to fly again but if an emergency comes up it will be good to have it done ahead of time.

 

[crazyfingers]

I ultimately decided to endure the extra hassle of finding documents and got a Real ID. It was necessary to first go on-line and do the signup which included pre-identifying documents and proof of current address that I would present when I arrived. The RMV had previously mailed a list of acceptable documents and of course the list that they had mailed didn't match the on-line list. For example my car loan statement was on the mailed list but not on the on-line list. My current drivers license showing my correct address was on the mailed list but not shown on the on-line list. It allegedly was meant to be included under the RMV documents. I would not classify a plastic card as necessarily described as a document in the conventional sense.

The mailed list included "Bank statement with all physical cancelled checks" but of course no bank mails back cancelled checks these days.

They only accept "Original" statements for bills and such as proof. No "Copies" are not allowed. Had we fully converted to on-line statements I don't know if a printout of a statement would have counted as an original or a copy.

In any case, after an hour in line at the AAA I finally finished.