Ellie Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 I have been trying to get a passport. Long story finally involving my U.S. congressman. When I finally have my passport, it will have a different name on it than my real Texas driver license (another long story). Someone mentioned to me that in a situation where I would need to show both passport and driver license, the names on both would need to be the same. Which makes sense, but which oh-my-I-can-hardly-bear-to-imagine-the-problems-that-will-cause. Whaddaya think? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Well, I can't think of a time where I have had to show them simultaneously. But it does seem a bit risky not to be prepared for that kind of bureaucratic black hole. Can your congresswoman write you a note? 😉 How different are they? Initial vs full first name, or is it a leftover from your CIA days, Mrs. Ellie vs Mrs E Sophia or Mrs Esmerelda Weatherwax? Sadly, you can no longer count on people to use common sense any more, we've outlawed most of that flexibility. Next time you are racing through some European country James Bond-like and you use your passport to stop a bullet, it sounds like your license won't be much help in convincing the local US embassy to help you get a replacement. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 The only time I can think that you might need to show both forms of ID Is if you are attempting to rent a car in a foreign country. Or, perhaps if you are trying to do some complex international financial transaction which would require a second form of ID. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 There are very few circumstances where you need to show both a driver's license and a passport. For foreign travel, other than for renting a car, I can't think of any occasion you would need need to show your driver's license. Within the U.S., a driver's license is usually sufficient ID. When it isn't, the option is usually a valid U.S. passport OR current driver's license plus a birth certificate, marriage license, or other accepted document. Does the name on your driver's license match the form of your name on other official paperwork? When traveling by air within the US, remember to match the name on your ticket to the ID you will be using. That would be your driver's license if you are reserving a rental car and purchasing plane tickets at the same time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 In 40 years, never once have I had to show both my passport and my driver's license together. Many people wouldn't even have a driver's license, or many people wouldn't have a passport. It's not required that a person have both. So, in that particular situation, I think you'll be okay. However, you'll have to be sure that anything else you have to show alongside one or the other always matches the ID that you're using. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 So you need to update your DL with your legal name, right? How old is your license? Surely the name on that will need to match your passport when you upgrade to "real ID" for your DL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 13, 2020 Author Share Posted March 13, 2020 2 hours ago, SusanC said: How different are they? Initial vs full first name, or is it a leftover from your CIA days, Mrs. Ellie vs Mrs E Sophia or Mrs Esmerelda Weatherwax? ::looks for the CIA emoji:: Ellie is a diminutive of my middle name. So the passport says Martha, or maybe Martha Ella, or even Ella (which is part of the whole long story I didn't want to bore you all with), while the driver license (and all my credit cards, and my bank accounts, and everything except for rilly, rilly legal stuff like the title on my house or my dc's birth certificates) is Ellie. I have used Ellie on my driver license for over 40 years. It is a real I.D. I don't know how that happened; it just came that way when I renewed it. I have always been called Ellie, and it has been a PITA since I was 11yo. It is why my dc go by their first names which don't have diminutive forms. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Guessing you may not want to do this, but... you could do a legal name change and then use that court document to get a passport with your preferred name That's the easiest solution I can think of to get DL & passport to match. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 13, 2020 Author Share Posted March 13, 2020 24 minutes ago, TrixieB said: Guessing you may not want to do this, but... you could do a legal name change and then use that court document to get a passport with your preferred name That's the easiest solution I can think of to get DL & passport to match. No, I don't want to do that. I suspect that if anything, the driver license will be changed to match the passport, which will also be a PITA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Ellie said: ...the driver license will be changed to match the passport, which will also be a PITA. Googling, it looks like it's pretty easy. That seems to be the thing to do. Is your name on your social security card your legal name and the name that is on your passport? Edited March 13, 2020 by PeterPan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 FWIW, one time when Husband went to renew his US passport, he was interviewed aggressively because someone with similar personal details had a an outstanding offence against his name. After the interview, Husband asked how he could avoid being called out again (the interview hadn't proved anything, just moved the balance of probabilities). He was told to carry a second ID in addition to his US passport. Which was odd advice coming from the US consulate. Luckily he's a dual national, so now he always carries both passports just in case. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 5 hours ago, Ellie said: ::looks for the CIA emoji:: Ellie is a diminutive of my middle name. So the passport says Martha, or maybe Martha Ella, or even Ella (which is part of the whole long story I didn't want to bore you all with), while the driver license (and all my credit cards, and my bank accounts, and everything except for rilly, rilly legal stuff like the title on my house or my dc's birth certificates) is Ellie. I have used Ellie on my driver license for over 40 years. It is a real I.D. I don't know how that happened; it just came that way when I renewed it. I have always been called Ellie, and it has been a PITA since I was 11yo. It is why my dc go by their first names which don't have diminutive forms. 🙂 I had to legally change my name to initial actual name a few years ago. Because AL decided to use my passport name instead of the name I had been using for over 35 years and was on my SS card, military id, all credit cards, the one i filed taxes under, etc, etc, So I legally changed it to G Great name format and U was due for a new passport anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lulalu Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Renting cars overseas will require showing both. It could be a problem in some situations. But all of ours match so I have not dealt with it. If both are your legal names and everything is done correct then I would keep a notarized or apostille stamped birth certificate, and marriage certificate with while traveling. We need these, but we travel a lot and have much more complicated stuff we do than the average person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 IMO the Full Name on your U.S. Passport should be THE Full Name that all of your other IDs need to show. If they are different, that could cause issues for International Flights, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmsurbat1 Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 50 minutes ago, Lanny said: IMO the Full Name on your U.S. Passport should be THE Full Name that all of your other IDs need to show. If they are different, that could cause issues for International Flights, etc. I agree. In general, passport id carries "more weight" than a driver's license. My MIL used several names on several different ids over the years---all variations of the same names depending on if the context was business or social or official. In the old days of my youth, that was absolutely no big deal. But nowadays, when agencies can pull up info on a moment's notice, multiple variations of even the same name raises flags. We had to waste hours of time and money to get her situation squared away. (I don't think your situation will take quite as much--she had naturalization papers as well to figure in). So, while you can probably get away with the discrepancy for awhile, I predict it will come to haunt you in the future, so best to take care of changing the DL to match the passport (with your true legal name) now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Oooh, I know this one! My passport and DL names did not match for OVER FIFTEEN YEARS. And it was never, not once, a problem. The story is that I was married for over 20 years before I changed my name on my Social Security record and drivers' license. When I got my passport a few years into our marriage, however, I sent in my ID and my marriage license, and the passport was issued in my married name. I used both names for different purposes for a long time before I got around to syncing them up. It was surprising to me how much of a non-issue it was. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 (edited) Not a passport issue, but one time my airline ticket had my name as Katie and my Drivers license has my full name as Kathleen. A very nervous TSA agent pulled me aside and commented he didn’t know what to do as he had never seen Katie and Kathleen as the same name...he then called for a supervisor. Supervisor looked at it, rolled his eyes and waved me thru, but as he did, he whispered, I would make sure that doesn’t happen again as some places will not let you thru. Edited March 13, 2020 by KatieinMich 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Well, since DL will need to be the "enhanced" ID (with the star on them) for use with airline travel, starting Oct. 1st of this year, it seems like it would kill 2 bureaucratic birds with one stone by going in and changing the DL over to the official full name that matches the passport... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 I think you should watch Nate Bargatze's The Tennessee Kid on Netflix and pay attention to his name issues when he flies Delta. That will keep you in good humor when you go to battle getting this fixed. God love you, Ellie, and I do too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 ZOMBIE THREAD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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