Question: My understanding is that next January, I will need a state ID card or driver’s license which shows legal presence. So I decided to ask for a duplicate license, showing my Social Security card and birth certificate, because I want to travel next year and my current license isn’t going to expire for a while. But when I called the city driver’s licensing office, I was told the duplicate would be the same as my current license, which will be valid next year anyway. The DOT public affairs office told me the same thing. I’m confused. Can you clarify this?
Answer: The collective angst and confusion being felt over requirements of the federal REAL ID Act aren’t going to be eased any time soon.
Although the deadline is still Jan. 15 for all jurisdictions to comply fully with the act — which tightened requirements for obtaining driver’s licenses and state ID cards — Hawaii and many other jurisdictions have asked for another extension, said Dennis Kamimura, administrator of the city’s Motor Vehicle and Licensing Division.
To date, “We have not received a response to that letter (sent by the state Department of Transportation),” he said.
Marsha Catron, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C., confirmed receiving a request from Hawaii for an extension, “and (DHS) will respond directly.”
But in an email she also said, “DHS has every intention of maintaining the January 15, 2013 deadline. This applies to the state meeting requirements, not an individual.”
Once a jurisdiction has met the requirements, the deadlines for obtaining compliant licenses and ID cards depend on your age: Nov. 30, 2014, for people born on or after Dec. 1, 1964; Nov. 30, 2017, for people born before Dec. 1, 1964.
“The December 2014 and December 2017 dates remain in effect, at which time the individual must have a REAL ID driver’s license or identification document if an individual chooses to provide a driver’s license for an official purpose, such as boarding a commercial aircraft,” Catron said.
But it’s still unclear whether noncompliant forms of licenses/IDs will get you onboard a plane next year.
“We’ve not made any announcements at this point, but I am quite certain if a common form of ID is no longer allowed to be used, we’ll make an announcement,” Nico Melendez, spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration’s Pacific Region, told us Thursday in an email.
He said that’s the best answer he could give at this point.
Catron emphasized, “REAL ID does not impact any other acceptable form of identification an individual chooses to provide for these same purposes.”
A valid U.S. passport, for example, is accepted for REAL ID purposes, so you can use that as identification any time to fly.
DUPLICATE LICENSES
Kamimura said drivers will be allowed to apply for a duplicate license that complies with the REAL ID Act, but only after Hawaii is designated a compliant jurisdiction by Homeland Security.
That hasn’t happened yet, despite the state implementing a legal-presence requirement for driver’s licenses and ID cards on March 5.
While implementing a legal-presence requirement is a major part of the REAL ID Act, the state has not yet met all the requirements to be certified by DHS as a REAL ID-compliant state, Kamimura said.
As such, licenses currently being issued cannot be designated as being REAL ID-compliant, he said.
Kamimura said local officials hope that DHS will either postpone the compliance date or amend its rules so that jurisdictions like Hawaii that have met the majority of requirements will be declared compliant.
Question: Why are senior citizens getting special treatment when renewing their driver’s licenses? A co-worker went to Kapolei to renew her license, taking her Social Security card, current passport and driver’s license. They renewed her license without her birth certificate! Whereas, those of us who renewed our licenses had to get our birth certificates from our safe deposit boxes or go down to the Department of Health to get a certified copy and pay for it, too. Those who already renewed are not happy.
Answer: No special treatment was given.
If you look at the list of acceptable documents, either a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate is accepted as proof of legal name, date of birth and legal presence.
Go to hawaii.gov/dot/hawaiis-legal-presence-law for the list of documents or call the city motor vehicle licensing office at 532-7730.
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