RALEIGH ? In a little less than six months, North Carolina motorists going to the DMV to get a new driver?s license or to renew their old one could be in for a surprise.
Beginning July 1, motorists will no longer get their diver?s license on the spot. Instead, they?ll be issued a 20-day certificate to drive. Identification documents that you provided to the DMV will be scanned in and officials in Raleigh will review them for authenticity. If everything turns out OK, your driver?s license will be mailed to your residential address. Post office box addresses won?t be accepted.
?It?s a way to make your driver?s license compliant with the requirements of the Real ID Act,? said Marge Howell, a spokeswoman for the Division of Motor Vehicles. ?We feel like our driver?s license will meet those requirements.?
Some requirements for proving residency and legality for immigrants are already in place. However, those requirements, coupled with the new central license issuance law, could require some planning ahead for motorists.
Since most driver?s licenses expire on a birthday, motorists may not want to wait until the birthday arrives to get a renewal, particularly if they will need a license for identification purposes, Howell said. The temporary certificate is for driving purposes only. It will be on a sheet of paper and won?t contain a picture.
People going to the DMV to get an identification card will also have to get their card in the mail at their physical address. However, they won?t be given a temporary certificate, just a receipt.
Reaction to the new system is mixed.
Tom Crosby, vice president of communications at AAA Carolinas, said the minor inconveniences pale in compareson to the benefits.
?A little inconvenience is a small price to pay for security,? Crosby said. ?Driving is a privilege, not a right.?
Sarah Preston, legislative director for the ACLU of North Carolina, disagrees.
?The ACLU objects to any actions that would bring North Carolina more in compliance with Real ID,? Preston said. ?We object to the idea of a national ID card.?
Preston said the national ID card will create an opportunity for hackers to access the national database and make identity fraud easier. And she questioned whether having such a card would actually make us more secure.
?If we?re talking about safety on the roads, we should be encouraging people to get driver?s licenses,? she said. The setup for the Real ID Act discourages that, she said.
She questioned whether establishing watch lists at airports would improve security.
?All kinds of people are getting on this list who shouldn?t be on it,? Preston said. ?And people aren?t on who should be on it.?
Crosby, however, said that people utilizing the privilege of driving should be willing to abide by the inconveniences that come with the privilege.
?It?s unfortunate, but maybe it?s unavoidable given what?s happening in our world today,? Crosby said.
?It?s going to mean repeated trips to the DMV for some people,? Preston said. It could keep homeless people and others who don?t get their mail at home from getting their ID cards, she said.
One of the manifestations of the driver?s license requirements is that the name on the driver?s license will have to match the motorist?s name with the Social Security Administration. Since the DMV is now requiring full names on driver?s licenses, which could present some problems for a motorist whose name on his or her Social Security account includes a person?s initial. The same holds true for women who have their maiden name on file with the Social Security Administration but want their married name on their driver?s license.
?What we do is check your name and Social Security number against what the Social Security Administration has,? Howell said. ?We have access to their system so that we can do that when you come in.?
Howell suggests that people make the necessary changes with the Social Security Administration ahead of time.
Robert Fournoy, district manager for the Social Security Administration in Raleigh, said that original documents or certified copies of birth certificates and marriage certificates are generally required if a person wants to change his or her name on their Social Security account.
Howell reminded motorists that they can renew their license up to 180 days before they expire. So she suggested anyone unsure about whether they?ll encounter any problems because of the new requirements contact the DMV well ahead of their expiration date. She said that the DMV, which currently sends out driver?s license renewal notices two months before a person?s expiration date, will begin sending the renewal notices out three months ahead of time.
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