Question: I went to the Hawaii Kai Satellite City Hall and found they needed more proof of identification for my driver’s license renewal. Last year a credit card with a photo on it was sufficient. Why wouldn’t a passport suffice?
Answer: A credit card is “not an acceptable form of ID,” said Sheri Kajiwara, director of the city Department of Customer Services.
Since Hawaii’s Legal Presence Act took effect March 5, 2012, anyone applying for a Hawaii driver’s license or state ID card is required to show proof of identity, legal presence in the United States and Social Security number.
Determining what documents are needed and accepted has been confusing to many people, complicated by the fact that some applicants may need more documents than others.
For example, women who have changed their names because of marriage have to produce a document showing the legal name change, usually a marriage certificate.
The good news is that if you have access to a computer, the city has a new online interactive guide that makes wading through the document maze much easier. Go to www1.honolulu.gov/forms_all/documentguide.htm.
We tested out the three-step process:
>> Step 1. Select the service you desire: driver’s license, instruction permit or state ID card.
>> Step 2. Indicate if any of the following apply: You had a legal name change (through marriage, adoption or court order) or if the names on your documents are not exactly the same; you are a non-U.S. citizen; you have military ties.
>> Step 3: Select your documents. After completing Steps 1 and 2, a list of documents with several columns of requirements is displayed. Checkboxes indicate which requirements a document satisfies. A green check appears under the satisfied requirements. You are instructed to continue until all columns contain green checks.
It turns out that a valid, unexpired U.S. passport will satisfy several requirements: legal name, date of birth, legal presence and legal name change.
We tested the document guide and found, because we have a valid passport, the only additional document we would need to renew a driver’s license was an original Social Security card.
At that point Step 4 popped up, informing us that all requirements were met and that only original (no copies) or certified documents would be accepted. We were advised to print the page and take the documents to a driver’s licensing location.
Kajiwara pointed out that if someone were applying for a state ID card, another requirement field would appear, requiring two proofs of permanent residence, such as a utility bill and a bank statement.
Question: What is the deal with the often-sighted red flashing lights that warn of an oversize vehicle when entering the Wilson Tunnel Kaneohe-bound? There are sirens and a warning sign but no further instruction.
Answer: There are two flasher-and-siren signs approaching the Kaneohe-bound Wilson Tunnel that warn drivers of oversize vehicles that their loads are too tall to clear the 13-foot tunnel height limit, said Caroline Sluyter, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.
“Four additional warning signs are posted directing these vehicles to an overheight exit turn-around lane in the median to avoid a collision.”
Height limit warning signs and a signal are also posted on the Honolulu-bound tunnel approach, she said.
Mahalo
To the person who showed much aloha upon finding and returning my iPhone to the lost-and-found office at the 50th State Fair. Your honesty made my day a happy one! — B.Y.
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
