4 ms·

Real ID is a series of annoying steps that you need to go through to get a star on your license. People that haven't "upgraded" to Real ID are the noncompliant

by tapoxi 11mo ago

Real ID is a series of annoying steps that you need to go through to get a star on your license. People that haven't "upgraded" to Real ID are the noncompliant ones.

rahimnathwani 11mo ago
I don't remember any annoying steps to get Real ID at the CA DMV in San Francisco. (For reference, I'm not a US citizen, but am here legally.) What are the annoying steps others have faced?
- ghaff 11mo ago
  I did have to get some additional docs and come back to the AAA office, Not really a big deal but you did need one or two additional docs even though I have a passport.
- throwaway81523 11mo ago
  The annoying extra steps involve stuff like authenticating your residence address with additionjal documents. Enough hassle that I didn't bother with mine, as it would have taken extra time and I waited til the last minute before renewing. It's also a privacy invasion. And to do it now I'd have to pay a bunch extra to get a replacement license when I otherwise don't need to. I hope someone can get this new TSA fee blocked by a court. Added: I think Real ID may also require your license to show your residence address (mine only has my mailing address). California's DMV collects residence addresses but treats them as confidential, ever since actress Rebecca Schaefer got murdered by a stalker who got her address from the DMV. There is a separate space on the application form where you can write the address you want them to print on your license.
  - AlotOfReading 11mo ago
    Not to mention that the list of acceptable documents has changed multiple times, compliant IDs usually cost extra, issuing clerks often didn't accept digital bills or state documents like voter registration, and some states (e.g. Arizona) only started issuing compliant IDs within the last few years. It's a rollout practically designed for noncompliance.
- jltsiren 11mo ago
  As a legal immigrant, you get used to dealing with government bureaucracy, and the demands are usually higher than for citizens. Places where you get the same treatment as citizens then don't feel so bad in comparison.
- tehlike 11mo ago
  Renewing non-REAL ID driver's license is online. Getting a REAL ID requires a trip to DMV, and this is why I am avoiding it. Essentially for this reason, i am just choosing to renew my regular ID instead of getting a REALID one. The good thing is I have many ids that can be used in lieu of REAL ID: - Passport card - Passport - Global entry card So I will probably never get a REAL ID until California does away with non-REAL ID ids.
  - panny 11mo ago
    >Getting a REAL ID requires a trip to DMV Getting a real id requires you to bring in paperwork that doesn't exist for me anymore. They want a utility bill? I do everything paperless. I am unable to get a real id because of their ridiculous "proof" requirements. It's not about identifying people. I have a passport and can show that to them. I have a global entry card. Both qualify as a substitute for a real id. But I cannot use the global entry card as a form of proof of identity. No, please bring a landline telephone bill to us. It's just another humiliation ritual.
    - refurb 11mo ago
      > They want a utility bill? I do everything paperless. I They accept printed pdfs over even a pdf on your phone.
      - panny 11mo ago
        Haha, funny. I was told specifcally no, your phone doesn't work. It needs to be a postmarked envelope with my address on it from a utility.
    - wkat4242 11mo ago
      A landline lol are they living in the 90s?
    - tehlike 11mo ago
      They accept PDF printouts. The documentation burden is not a lot, but the timing can be inconvenient especially when you already have alternatives you can rely on.
- SlightlyLeftPad 11mo ago
  Going to the DMV is the annoying step
- kotaKat 11mo ago
  Likely documentation-related. As a US citizen I "just" needed to present my birth certificate and Social Security card to the DMV along with my "normal" license, and a print-out of a paystub from my employer online (that they didn't even look at). Of course, the second factor is "going to the DMV", which depending on area can either be an all-day hellscape, or if you're rural, five minutes in and out.
  - ghaff 11mo ago
    As a US citizen, I don't have a social security card (though I have a passport) and I think I probably have a birth certificate somewhere though I don't really know. Going to AAA where I am is sorta exurban and pretty easy.
    - tapoxi 11mo ago
      Do yourself a favor and contact the social security administration for a replacement card. It's a lot easier to get it now and keep it somewhere safe then be screwed when you suddenly need it for a second form of ID.
      - ghaff 11mo ago
        I probably should although I also have Passport, RealID, and a Global Entry card--the latter of which I use for flying now given that it doesn't really matter if I lose it.
  - kayfox 11mo ago
    > or if you're rural, five minutes in and out. After driving for an hour or two.
- JauntTrooper 11mo ago
  I had trouble getting one. I thought I was prepared. I brought in my passport, my social security card, my paystubs, and stacks of utility bills to prove my residence. They told me bills needed to be physically postmarked, not printed, so what I brought didn't count. The problem was I had gone digital/paperless, so I hardly ever received physical bills in the mail. I eventually had to switch two of them to paper billing, wait a month or two, get the bill, and then use that before switching back, then go back to the DMV. It was really annoying.
  - ghaff 11mo ago
    I haven't had a social security card in decades since a wallet was stolen. I do have a passport (and global entry card) but I basically get almost no paystubs/utility bills/etc. in the mail. When I got my RealID license I forget what I needed to dig out but it was annoying. (Was able to handle through AAA rather than DMV though.)
heelix 11mo ago
I've had problems getting one. Taken a couple attempts at it when the drivers license renews. Last attempt, it seems those adopted need both the biological as well as the legal birth certificate. I've sorted my passport, so do have a passport card now - but I don't always travel with it. (One of the gotchas with GA flying, some days you end up taking a commercial flight home) Guess that changes. Previously, they would just wave you through and 'randomly' select you for fabric/skin swabs.
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]

by tapoxi 11mo ago

Real ID is a series of annoying steps that you need to go through to get a star on your license. People that haven't "upgraded" to Real ID are the noncompliant ones.

rahimnathwani 11mo ago

I don't remember any annoying steps to get Real ID at the CA DMV in San Francisco. (For reference, I'm not a US citizen, but am here legally.) What are the annoying steps others have faced?

ghaff 11mo ago
I did have to get some additional docs and come back to the AAA office, Not really a big deal but you did need one or two additional docs even though I have a passport.
throwaway81523 11mo ago
The annoying extra steps involve stuff like authenticating your residence address with additionjal documents. Enough hassle that I didn't bother with mine, as it would have taken extra time and I waited til the last minute before renewing. It's also a privacy invasion. And to do it now I'd have to pay a bunch extra to get a replacement license when I otherwise don't need to. I hope someone can get this new TSA fee blocked by a court. Added: I think Real ID may also require your license to show your residence address (mine only has my mailing address). California's DMV collects residence addresses but treats them as confidential, ever since actress Rebecca Schaefer got murdered by a stalker who got her address from the DMV. There is a separate space on the application form where you can write the address you want them to print on your license.
- AlotOfReading 11mo ago
  Not to mention that the list of acceptable documents has changed multiple times, compliant IDs usually cost extra, issuing clerks often didn't accept digital bills or state documents like voter registration, and some states (e.g. Arizona) only started issuing compliant IDs within the last few years. It's a rollout practically designed for noncompliance.
jltsiren 11mo ago
As a legal immigrant, you get used to dealing with government bureaucracy, and the demands are usually higher than for citizens. Places where you get the same treatment as citizens then don't feel so bad in comparison.
tehlike 11mo ago
Renewing non-REAL ID driver's license is online. Getting a REAL ID requires a trip to DMV, and this is why I am avoiding it. Essentially for this reason, i am just choosing to renew my regular ID instead of getting a REALID one. The good thing is I have many ids that can be used in lieu of REAL ID: - Passport card - Passport - Global entry card So I will probably never get a REAL ID until California does away with non-REAL ID ids.
- panny 11mo ago
  >Getting a REAL ID requires a trip to DMV Getting a real id requires you to bring in paperwork that doesn't exist for me anymore. They want a utility bill? I do everything paperless. I am unable to get a real id because of their ridiculous "proof" requirements. It's not about identifying people. I have a passport and can show that to them. I have a global entry card. Both qualify as a substitute for a real id. But I cannot use the global entry card as a form of proof of identity. No, please bring a landline telephone bill to us. It's just another humiliation ritual.
  - refurb 11mo ago
    > They want a utility bill? I do everything paperless. I They accept printed pdfs over even a pdf on your phone.
    - panny 11mo ago
      Haha, funny. I was told specifcally no, your phone doesn't work. It needs to be a postmarked envelope with my address on it from a utility.
  - wkat4242 11mo ago
    A landline lol are they living in the 90s?
  - tehlike 11mo ago
    They accept PDF printouts. The documentation burden is not a lot, but the timing can be inconvenient especially when you already have alternatives you can rely on.
SlightlyLeftPad 11mo ago
Going to the DMV is the annoying step
kotaKat 11mo ago
Likely documentation-related. As a US citizen I "just" needed to present my birth certificate and Social Security card to the DMV along with my "normal" license, and a print-out of a paystub from my employer online (that they didn't even look at). Of course, the second factor is "going to the DMV", which depending on area can either be an all-day hellscape, or if you're rural, five minutes in and out.
- ghaff 11mo ago
  As a US citizen, I don't have a social security card (though I have a passport) and I think I probably have a birth certificate somewhere though I don't really know. Going to AAA where I am is sorta exurban and pretty easy.
  - tapoxi 11mo ago
    Do yourself a favor and contact the social security administration for a replacement card. It's a lot easier to get it now and keep it somewhere safe then be screwed when you suddenly need it for a second form of ID.
    - ghaff 11mo ago
      I probably should although I also have Passport, RealID, and a Global Entry card--the latter of which I use for flying now given that it doesn't really matter if I lose it.
- kayfox 11mo ago
  > or if you're rural, five minutes in and out. After driving for an hour or two.
JauntTrooper 11mo ago
I had trouble getting one. I thought I was prepared. I brought in my passport, my social security card, my paystubs, and stacks of utility bills to prove my residence. They told me bills needed to be physically postmarked, not printed, so what I brought didn't count. The problem was I had gone digital/paperless, so I hardly ever received physical bills in the mail. I eventually had to switch two of them to paper billing, wait a month or two, get the bill, and then use that before switching back, then go back to the DMV. It was really annoying.
- ghaff 11mo ago
  I haven't had a social security card in decades since a wallet was stolen. I do have a passport (and global entry card) but I basically get almost no paystubs/utility bills/etc. in the mail. When I got my RealID license I forget what I needed to dig out but it was annoying. (Was able to handle through AAA rather than DMV though.)

heelix 11mo ago

I've had problems getting one. Taken a couple attempts at it when the drivers license renews. Last attempt, it seems those adopted need both the biological as well as the legal birth certificate. I've sorted my passport, so do have a passport card now - but I don't always travel with it. (One of the gotchas with GA flying, some days you end up taking a commercial flight home) Guess that changes. Previously, they would just wave you through and 'randomly' select you for fabric/skin swabs.

deleted 11mo ago
[deleted]