Is PA the only state that requires soooo much

[newbie]

They want everything except blood and first born just to change residency and get new DL.

 

Its like 5 proofs of ID, from birth certificate on up.

[Doodle]

I know what you are going through. I just went through this when we moved back to PA last December. The driver licensing center would not accept the certificate I had and had always believed was my birth certificate. This certificate was sent to my parents, by the state of PA, when I was born. This was the very same certificate I used to get my learner's permit and first driver's license, in the state of PA, when I was 17 years old. I had to order a new birth certificate which incidentally has less information printed (only my name and date of birth) on it than the certificate I've had all these years.

[Ellie]

Texas does the same thing. An elderly friend is trying to get a Texas ID (not a driver license, just an ID). She has to provide 3 forms of ID, which is much more difficult than you'd think. :glare: Also, even though this is an ID and not a drivers license, she still has to show proof of auto insurance. :confused: DPS (Department of Public Safety, which issues driver licenses and IDs) would not accept my mil's military ID card as a form of ID.:glare:

[Daisy]

I believe it is just a birth cert in CA, but they take your thumb print as well.

[newbie]

Ca is easy.

 

Dh is making his first attempt at the DOT.

 

I have to get my Birth Certificate, what a pain. I hope they dont ask for my marriage certificate, since my name is different.

 

Btw, does anyone know what happens if you miss the 60 day deadline???

[newbie]

That is what I am scared of. I will probably flunk the test after 30 years, there is no way I can parallel park especially in Pitt.

 

Pitt driving is waaay differnt than Cali, first weird thing, they park on the street every which way, it doesnt go w/the flow of traffic. You would get major ticket for that.

[RoughCollie]

They want everything except blood and first born just to change residency and get new DL.

 

Its like 5 proofs of ID, from birth certificate on up.

 

I am still trying to get a DL after one year here. They told me last time I tried that it is due to Homeland Security regulations.

[JoyfulMama]

Yes, I was required to present my marriage license as proof of my current legal name (even though I had a previous PA license in my married name). I had to go back a second time. :glare:

Plus, birth certificate, SS card, current valid license from another state, proof of residence (x2?), oh, and cash or check only.

Smile. They like friendly people. Be organized. They are amazed when you have read their paperwork.

60 days? Meh...;)

[rafiki]

.

[Wheres Toto]

NJ has a 6 points system. You have to have 6 points worth of id where some things are worth 2 or 3 points (previous digital drivers license, passport, birth certificate) and some are worth only 1 (social security card). Then, you also need proof of address and anything showing name changes.

 

When I was first remarried I had to bring old driver's license (non-digital), birth certificate, social security card, a bank statement with my name on it (for address), my first marriage certificate, my divorce papers and my second marriage certificate. It's a lot easier now since my new license is digital and everything except birth certificate is in my new name. Now I would just need current driver's license, birth certificate, bank statement and marriage certificate.

[m0mmaBuck]

This is aggravating to me. When we thought we had lost DD's Social Security card we were told that her birth certificate was not a valid form of ID but that we could bring in a letter from her pediatrician and they would reissue a card number for her. WTH?

[NanceXToo]

The one GOOD thing I can say about PA, is they've never made me put my weight on my drivers' license!

 

:D

[phathui5]

New York had a whole list of things I had to provide when I got my license here.

[mommaduck]

They want everything except blood and first born just to change residency and get new DL.

 

Its like 5 proofs of ID, from birth certificate on up.

Yes, they practically wanted me to dig up my grandmother in SC just to get a license here. I sent for my birth cert THREE times, before I was able to get an official stamped copy (apparently, xerox copies aren't good enough and my mama had decided to keep my birth cert). Oh yeah, and they needed my marriage certificate and license.

[mommaduck]

Ca is easy.

 

Dh is making his first attempt at the DOT.

 

I have to get my Birth Certificate, what a pain. I hope they dont ask for my marriage certificate, since my name is different.

 

Btw, does anyone know what happens if you miss the 60 day deadline???

I missed the 60 day deadline. No one did or said anything to me.

[Jann in TX]

You don't want to walk 4 miles per day in wintertime do you?!

 

When my older girls got their driving permit they needed an additional photo ID that we just did not have... so it was easier to use the forms we DID have on hand to get a State ID--then (at the SAME VISIT) we used the State ID to get the permit---crazy!

 

Get that license updated then get your hubby to buy you a car...

[JoyfulMama]

The one GOOD thing I can say about PA, is they've never made me put my weight on my drivers' license!

 

:D

:lol:

[Giraffe]

Virginia is really hard too. And they won't give it to you at the DMV, but will only mail it to your official Virginia address and will NOT forward it anywhere. It's really hard, with 3 forms of ID, at least 2 picture ID, etc.

 

All the 9/11 hijackers had Virginia DLs, so the state really cracked down after that. Before 9/11 it was really too easy to get a VA driver's license. I think I just needed a letter addressed to me at a Virginia address (like a bill) and my California DL I walked out with the license.

 

Can't we find a middle ground?

[newbie]

I am still trying to get a DL after one year here. They told me last time I tried that it is due to Homeland Security regulations.

 

why are you having problems, are you naturalizd, dh had issue, but he is foreigner

[RoughCollie]

why are you having problems, are you naturalizd, dh had issue, but he is foreigner

 

No, but I was born to a mother who was a German citizen and to an American father who was serving in the USAF, in Germany.

 

Ergo, I have birth certificates from the Air Force and from Germany and from the US Dept of State.

 

First time I went, I did not have any documentation with me. I had no idea I would need to do more than swap my MA license, since all I needed in MA was my GA license. Of course, I had my social security card and other government issued ID that did not have a picture. I was told to bring my birth certificate.

 

The second time, I brought all 3 birth certificates, which were difficult to find as they were packed in a box somewhere. They told me I also had to have 2 pieces of business mail addressed to me at our new address. It could not be personal mail, junk mail (duh), or magazines, or anything else. Business only.

 

So I changed electric service to my name and subscribed to Direct TV and waited for business mail.

 

The third and fourth times I went (when I was in town anyway, this is a one hour round-trip), the office was either closed that day or not open for business with regard to issuing new DL's.

 

Then it snowed. DH's car was relatively useless since the roads weren't plowed well and he kept spinning out and skidding, so he took my SUV/truck to work at my insistence because I didn't want to become a widow. For a couple of months I didn't have a car to drive during the hours PennDot was open and DH didn't have time to take me there and back during the day because it is a 1 hour round trip plus the time at PennDot, and he has 2 businesses to run.

 

When the snow melted, I got the use of my car back and the basement flooded from the foundation (water came in from under the carpet, from beneath the house). Of course since this was nowhere near the washer and dryer, I didn't discover the wet carpet in time to save the Most Important Box and the file with my State Dept birth certificate was destroyed by water. But that is no problem -- I still have a USAF birth certificate, right, since it was handily in another place?

 

So the fifth time, I went back with my 2 remaining birth certificates, my MA license, my social security card, my 2 pieces of business mail, and just in case -- my marriage certificate and our lease. PennDot does not want my marriage certificate or my lease.

 

That's when they said I had to have the birth certificate issued by the Dept. of State. I asked if this was due to Homeland Security regulations and the man said yes.

 

And that is where it has been left. I have to draft 2 affidavits and have them notarized, and send those to the Dept of State, along with $50. At some point, when I receive the birth certificate, I will return to the driver's license place.

 

So next up: Finding a notary and finding out when s/he is open for business. Yes, our bank has a notary. It is a huge imposition on that notary to notarize anything for us -- unlike our experience with banks in MA -- so I will find one who is in private practice.

 

Meanwhile, in frustration, I checked to see whether I am a German citizen. I am not because the year I was born, citizenship granted to offspring sprang only from the loins of a German-citizen father. The law has since been changed to include German mothers, but it is not retroactive. This delighted DH because he did not want me to move to Germany just because I am frustrated about getting a PA DL. All in all, this is a good thing since I do not speak German and my relatives there don't speak English.

 

Having a PA DL is the definitive proof of PA residency, and I need it.

 

Right now my big worry is that it has been 1 year and 3 months since I moved here, and nearly 9 months since I can no longer make a good argument for being a MA resident. I'll probably get the right birth certificate and be arrested on the spot when I go to get my DL. So now, I am thinking of becoming a fugitive and moving to KY (where most of my American relatives live), getting a license there, and moving back to PA. That way, I'll be within legal limits for getting a PA license, and KY won't ask if I ever lived in PA since I still have a MA license. If I do that, I won't be gone for more than a couple of weeks (I hope). I'll still need a birth certificate, but at least I won't be arrested.

Edited October 17, 2010 by RoughCollie

[Brigitte]

When I moved back to VA I had to register both of our cars. First I did my car and it was no problem, they took all the info I had and gave me my VA registration. Two weeks later, I took dh's car (both our names are on both cars) to be registered, and they wouldn't let me do it. When they asked for a pay stub or something with my current address, I gave them my commission stub from Usborne, which had my VA address on it. They wouldn't take it because it was a commission stub not a paycheck stub. The fact that I was self employed and didn't get paychecks would not sway that lady one bit. So, I just went back at a later date when another lady was at the counter and got the car registered with the exact same documentation.

[RoughCollie]

Btw, does anyone know what happens if you miss the 60 day deadline???

 

I'll call you when I am arrested, from jail, and let you know how it is. :D

[Mommamia]

Having a PA DL is the definitive proof of PA residency, and I need it.

Right now my big worry is that it has been 1 year and 3 months since I moved here, and nearly 9 months since I can no longer make a good argument for being a MA resident. I'll probably get the right birth certificate and be arrested on the spot when I go to get my DL. So now, I am thinking of becoming a fugitive and moving to KY (where most of my American relatives live), getting a license there, and moving back to PA. That way, I'll be within legal limits for getting a PA license, and KY won't ask if I ever lived in PA since I still have a MA license. If I do that, I won't be gone for more than a couple of weeks (I hope). I'll still need a birth certificate, but at least I won't be arrested.

 

Wait, why would you be arrested?

[RoughCollie]

Wait, why would you be arrested?

 

I don't know whether I will. If I am, it will be for waiting longer than the period allowed for a new resident to get a PA license. I think I'd better look up the law or regs on that. Or maybe I'll call and ask.

[Hathersage]

It has to do with Real ID Act. b/c of 9/11.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REAL_ID_Act#Federally_mandated_standards_for_state_driver.27s_licenses_or_ID_cards

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'll call you when I am arrested, from jail, and let you know how it is. :D

 

I went over a year here without renewing my license. I never got the notice and it wasn't until a store clerk at Sears told me, that I realized that it was expired. I had to pay a fine but nothing else. The lady at DMV told me that I could have been fined if I had been pulled over by a police officer for speeding and he asked to see my license. Of course, PA might have different penalties.

[newbie]

No, but I was born to a mother who was a German citizen and to an American father who was serving in the USAF, in Germany.

 

Ergo, I have birth certificates from the Air Force and from Germany and from the US Dept of State.

 

First time I went, I did not have any documentation with me. I had no idea I would need to do more than swap my MA license, since all I needed in MA was my GA license. Of course, I had my social security card and other government issued ID that did not have a picture. I was told to bring my birth certificate.

 

The second time, I brought all 3 birth certificates, which were difficult to find as they were packed in a box somewhere. They told me I also had to have 2 pieces of business mail addressed to me at our new address. It could not be personal mail, junk mail (duh), or magazines, or anything else. Business only.

 

So I changed electric service to my name and subscribed to Direct TV and waited for business mail.

 

The third and fourth times I went (when I was in town anyway, this is a one hour round-trip), the office was either closed that day or not open for business with regard to issuing new DL's.

 

Then it snowed. DH's car was relatively useless since the roads weren't plowed well and he kept spinning out and skidding, so he took my SUV/truck to work at my insistence because I didn't want to become a widow. For a couple of months I didn't have a car to drive during the hours PennDot was open and DH didn't have time to take me there and back during the day because it is a 1 hour round trip plus the time at PennDot, and he has 2 businesses to run.

 

When the snow melted, I got the use of my car back and the basement flooded from the foundation (water came in from under the carpet, from beneath the house). Of course since this was nowhere near the washer and dryer, I didn't discover the wet carpet in time to save the Most Important Box and the file with my State Dept birth certificate was destroyed by water. But that is no problem -- I still have a USAF birth certificate, right, since it was handily in another place?

 

So the fifth time, I went back with my 2 remaining birth certificates, my MA license, my social security card, my 2 pieces of business mail, and just in case -- my marriage certificate and our lease. PennDot does not want my marriage certificate or my lease.

 

That's when they said I had to have the birth certificate issued by the Dept. of State. I asked if this was due to Homeland Security regulations and the man said yes.

 

And that is where it has been left. I have to draft 2 affidavits and have them notarized, and send those to the Dept of State, along with $50. At some point, when I receive the birth certificate, I will return to the driver's license place.

 

So next up: Finding a notary and finding out when s/he is open for business. Yes, our bank has a notary. It is a huge imposition on that notary to notarize anything for us -- unlike our experience with banks in MA -- so I will find one who is in private practice.

 

Meanwhile, in frustration, I checked to see whether I am a German citizen. I am not because the year I was born, citizenship granted to offspring sprang only from the loins of a German-citizen father. The law has since been changed to include German mothers, but it is not retroactive. This delighted DH because he did not want me to move to Germany just because I am frustrated about getting a PA DL. All in all, this is a good thing since I do not speak German and my relatives there don't speak English.

 

Having a PA DL is the definitive proof of PA residency, and I need it.

 

Right now my big worry is that it has been 1 year and 3 months since I moved here, and nearly 9 months since I can no longer make a good argument for being a MA resident. I'll probably get the right birth certificate and be arrested on the spot when I go to get my DL. So now, I am thinking of becoming a fugitive and moving to KY (where most of my American relatives live), getting a license there, and moving back to PA. That way, I'll be within legal limits for getting a PA license, and KY won't ask if I ever lived in PA since I still have a MA license. If I do that, I won't be gone for more than a couple of weeks (I hope). I'll still need a birth certificate, but at least I won't be arrested.

 

Dh is thinking of going back to egypt too.

 

I will bail you out of jail,make sure its close to PItt.

[newbie]

No, but I was born to a mother who was a German citizen and to an American father who was serving in the USAF, in Germany.

 

Ergo, I have birth certificates from the Air Force and from Germany and from the US Dept of State.

 

First time I went, I did not have any documentation with me. I had no idea I would need to do more than swap my MA license, since all I needed in MA was my GA license. Of course, I had my social security card and other government issued ID that did not have a picture. I was told to bring my birth certificate.

 

The second time, I brought all 3 birth certificates, which were difficult to find as they were packed in a box somewhere. They told me I also had to have 2 pieces of business mail addressed to me at our new address. It could not be personal mail, junk mail (duh), or magazines, or anything else. Business only.

 

So I changed electric service to my name and subscribed to Direct TV and waited for business mail.

 

The third and fourth times I went (when I was in town anyway, this is a one hour round-trip), the office was either closed that day or not open for business with regard to issuing new DL's.

 

Then it snowed. DH's car was relatively useless since the roads weren't plowed well and he kept spinning out and skidding, so he took my SUV/truck to work at my insistence because I didn't want to become a widow. For a couple of months I didn't have a car to drive during the hours PennDot was open and DH didn't have time to take me there and back during the day because it is a 1 hour round trip plus the time at PennDot, and he has 2 businesses to run.

 

When the snow melted, I got the use of my car back and the basement flooded from the foundation (water came in from under the carpet, from beneath the house). Of course since this was nowhere near the washer and dryer, I didn't discover the wet carpet in time to save the Most Important Box and the file with my State Dept birth certificate was destroyed by water. But that is no problem -- I still have a USAF birth certificate, right, since it was handily in another place?

 

So the fifth time, I went back with my 2 remaining birth certificates, my MA license, my social security card, my 2 pieces of business mail, and just in case -- my marriage certificate and our lease. PennDot does not want my marriage certificate or my lease.

 

That's when they said I had to have the birth certificate issued by the Dept. of State. I asked if this was due to Homeland Security regulations and the man said yes.

 

And that is where it has been left. I have to draft 2 affidavits and have them notarized, and send those to the Dept of State, along with $50. At some point, when I receive the birth certificate, I will return to the driver's license place.

 

So next up: Finding a notary and finding out when s/he is open for business. Yes, our bank has a notary. It is a huge imposition on that notary to notarize anything for us -- unlike our experience with banks in MA -- so I will find one who is in private practice.

 

Meanwhile, in frustration, I checked to see whether I am a German citizen. I am not because the year I was born, citizenship granted to offspring sprang only from the loins of a German-citizen father. The law has since been changed to include German mothers, but it is not retroactive. This delighted DH because he did not want me to move to Germany just because I am frustrated about getting a PA DL. All in all, this is a good thing since I do not speak German and my relatives there don't speak English.

 

Having a PA DL is the definitive proof of PA residency, and I need it.

 

Right now my big worry is that it has been 1 year and 3 months since I moved here, and nearly 9 months since I can no longer make a good argument for being a MA resident. I'll probably get the right birth certificate and be arrested on the spot when I go to get my DL. So now, I am thinking of becoming a fugitive and moving to KY (where most of my American relatives live), getting a license there, and moving back to PA. That way, I'll be within legal limits for getting a PA license, and KY won't ask if I ever lived in PA since I still have a MA license. If I do that, I won't be gone for more than a couple of weeks (I hope). I'll still need a birth certificate, but at least I won't be arrested.

 

Hey, we should make a day out of it. We can hang out at grimy public offices all day.

[Jen in PA]

I just went through this to get new ID. The documentation part was crazy and they joked that I should get a briefcase to haul around all of my paperwork. I have to say that they were extremely nice about everything, and once I got it done it only took 3 days to get the new one.

[RoughCollie]

I will bail you out of jail,make sure its close to PItt.

 

Can you bring me some decent food while you're at it? They probably serve bologna sandwiches on Wonder Bread with mayo to jailbirds.

[PATTIPEANUT]

Boy can I relate, we moved to Greensburg, PA about two years ago (45 minutes east of Pitt) - my dh is in the military - I forgot to take some things with me - but fortunately our office took some things I did have with me.