Renewing your Driver's License - a cautionary tale

[Cyber Liberty]

There is federal law that has been requiring every state to issue enhanced drivers licenses. It first hit me in 2006. I had to renew my dl then and was required to bring my birth  certificate (clearly stated in my renewal notice).  I saw person after person sent away because they did not have the proper documentation. When I renewed in 2012, I was able to do it online. I had to renew again in late 2018 and they no longer required anything but wanted a passport if I had one, but I did have to renew in person since they will only allow online renewal every other time. When I received my new dl in the mail, it was the federally required enhanced license. There is a deadline for the states to meet the federal doc residents, I am in TX and we are in compliance.  I think there are only a couple of statew that are not, but depending on when you renewed your dl it may or may not be enhanced. My husband's is not, but it would have been if he wouod have renewed only six days later.

Warning: if you don't have an enhanced dl, after a certain date it will not be accepted as an id for a domestic flight, you will actually need a passport to fly domestic.

Next year I believe.  Mrs. Liberty and I are squaring it away next February, her license expires and mine will only have a few years left on it so we'll do both.

[berdie]

A list of what they will accept for documentation:

https://www.dps.texas.gov/internetforms/Forms/DL-32.pdf

Thank you for posting this.  I have to renew next year and plan to do it on-line. Hopefully there won't be a problem. But if there is at least I'm for warned.

[thackney]

Thank you for posting this.  I have to renew next year and plan to do it on-line. Hopefully there won't be a problem. But if there is at least I'm for warned.

If your license does not have the star, remember:

...Beginning October 1, 2020, only state-issued driver licenses and identification cards that are fully compliant with the REAL ID Act will be accepted for official federal government purposes, such as entering secure federal buildings or boarding domestic flights. Texas began issuing REAL ID compliant cards on October 10, 2016, and these cards are marked with a gold circle with an inset star located in the upper right-hand corner, as seen in the examples below.

All Texas driver licenses and identification cards, both compliant (star) and non-compliant (no star) are valid until the expiration date shown on the card. If you replaced or renewed your card after October 10, 2016, and have a gold star in the right-hand corner, your card is REAL ID compliant and no further action is required on your part. You may continue to use your compliant card for federal identification purposes until it expires.

If your card does not have the star, you can continue to use the card after October 1, 2020, but it will only be accepted for state-related purposes such as driving (driver license only), banking, and voting. It will not be accepted as identification for federal purposes....

[berdie]

Thank you once again @thackney .  I don't have a star on mine. It expires in the latter part of October next year.  I think I'll start early.

Correction:  I do have a faint star in a circle  next to the picture of the old lady that they say is me, lol.

[thackney]

Thank you once again @thackney .  I don't have a star on mine. It expires in the latter part of October next year.  I think I'll start early.

Correction:  I do have a faint star in a circle  next to the picture of the old lady that they say is me, lol.

@berdie

It should look like:

[berdie]

Nope...it don't look like that @thackney. The star isn't up there, so back to square one, sigh. Thanks!

[Elderberry]

Pressure mounts to fix DPS 'mega centers,' but will extra $200M ease Texas drivers' pain?

Dallas Morning News By Jesus Jimenez 8/28/2019

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2019/08/28/pressure-mounts-to-fix-dps-mega-centers-but-will-extra-200m-ease-texas-drivers-pain/

The agency has a plan to use that extra money, starting with an "aggressive hiring plan," but it won’t be enough to solve all of its problems, according to a staffing plan by the agency.

Collin County lawmakers turned up the pressure Wednesday on the Department of Public Safety to use $200 million in new funding to fix problems at its driver license "mega centers," following a call to action from the governor's office to shorten wait times.

"Our constituents are outraged," the seven legislators said in a letter to Col. Steven McCraw, director of the DPS, "and we share their sentiment."

Next week, more than $200 million, secured in the last legislative session, will become available to DPS to fill vacant positions and speed up lines at its mega centers and smaller branches.

The agency has a plan to use that extra money, starting with an "aggressive hiring plan," but it won’t be enough to solve all of its problems, according to a staffing plan by the agency.

In their letter to DPS, the Collin County lawmakers asked the agency to outline how it plans to use the $212.4 million in additional funding.

"We have heard countless horror stories from our constituents, many of whom have waited for several hours in the treacherous heat of the summer, to simply apply for or renew their driver licenses," states the letter from Sens. Pat Fallon and Angela Paxton and Reps. Justin Holland, Jeff Leach, Candy Noble, Scott Sanford and Matt Shaheen. "Simply put: this is unacceptable."

Noble, a Republican from Allen, said the long lines have a ripple effect for all Texans.

"The issue is costly to our Texas economy: lost time at work or school," she said in a Twitter post.

Paxton, a Republican from McKinney, said she has heard of "unacceptable wait times" from her constituents.

More at link.