Well now I'm kinda ticked off...

[agnes!]

...Now if I was an illegal alien the state of nj wanted to be able to just hand me a license. Or they at least were talking about doing this until people got up in arms about it.

Maybe everyone should declare themselves to be illegally in the US?...I can hardly wait until I have to renew mine.
agnes!

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

You should have checked the web site prior to going so you would have had it covered.
All states are changing policy, it's "supposed" to tighten up who can & can not get or renew a license.
Different world, different policies.

 

[manning]

So DH had to renew his license last week and it was a real eye opener I tell you! Did you know that to renew your license in Florida you now have to bring your old license, two pieces of mail that show your current address AND your birth certificate?! None of this info was on the paper they sent to remind us to renew it mind you!! So, we went to renew his license ON his birthday and of course brought just the paper they sent that we needed to renew and his old license since that is how it has worked in the past.

This is when we learned the new "rules". Since we didn't have his birth certificate (we DID have the two pieces of mail in the car since we'd just checked it on the way to town lol) we couldn't renew it that day so we were charged a $15 late fee for having to come back the next day with his birth certificate which we had to go purchase at the health dept for $17 since we couldn't find the copy at home! So not only did the renewal cost $48 (the fee went up from last yrs $25 on 1/1/10 which is insane) we paid $15 late fee and the $17 birth certificate fee for a total of $80 freaking dollars for a stupid license renewal..and we get to pay again this summer if we move to Orlando for the change of address...which costs the same as a renewal lol..

change of address in our state, you just get a sticker for the back of your license for change of address.

It's been 25 years so don't know if things changed but here in Illinois all we had to do was send a letter to the secretary of state notifying them of address change.

 

[Kathi OD]

Nj also has the 6 points (I think it's still 6- and one has to be a birth certificate and if you are a woman with a different last name you also have to bring your marriage license with a seal!)

Now if I was an illegal alien the state of nj wanted to be able to just hand me a license. Or they at least were talking about doing this until people got up in arms about it.

In NJ, if you are a US citizen, one does not have to be your birth certificate. You need a primary, document. For 4 of the points, it can be one of the following: civil birth certificate, US passport (current or less than 3 years expired), current NJ digital driver license, current NJ digital boat license, US adoption papers, current NJ digital non-driver ID. Still a pain in the butt, but not impossible.

 

[Maridw]

My DD had to go through this recently too. Unfortunately she also had a suspension because she had let her insurance lapse. So we had to pay the suspension reinstatement fee ($150) plus the $15 to extend it for 30 days so that she could bring in her birth certificate and social security card. She had the two proofs of address.

When we went home that day we had to find her ss card because she had an old one with the wrong name (long story). Then we had to find her birth certificate because I thought I had given it to her. Thankfully I still had it and I also found her correct ss card. She made an appointment for her next visit and would have been in and out quickly but the system had added the late fee (which should not have been added since she got the extension). They finally got that fixed and we got out of there. My DH went with us for the second visit and he was not really happy on how long it took. But there were not as many people as there were for our first visit.

We also were confused on the number system there were using. We did figure out the "A" numbers were appointments, but never did figure out exactly what the "B", "C", "D", "E" & "F" numbers were - DD had a "B" number the first time round.

 

[Katieinwonderland]

Oh I feel your pain - I just renewed my license and wanted to jump over the counter at the woman at the DMV!!!

I didn't know about the fee changes so I just bought enough in cash to cover what I THOUGHT it would cost. Well it turned out to be more, but the woman behind the desk told me I could use credit. Great! Except no, they don't take visa. So off I go to find an ATM.

I come back, and try again. I get asked if I have two pieces of mail with my address on. No, I don't. I'm told to come back with two pieces of mail.

Go home, get the mail, come back. Do you have your birth certificate? Nope, it's in England. Do I have a US passport? Nope, I'm a permanent resident not a US citizen. Well then, the pleasant lady tells me, I can't have a US driver's license! Really? Because I've had one for three years.

We got back and forth, I'm getting more and more annoyed - then she decides that I can use my green card as "proof of citizenship" (isn't a greencard sort of proof of NON-citizenship?!)

The whole process took an entire day

 

[Nancy]

They didn't update the picture? thats crazy!

I haven't had a new picture on my license in over 17 years. I know I did not have DD #3 the last time I had the picture done. She is now 17.

I think this next renewal will be the new picture one.

Sounds like Florida is charging NY State fees.

 

[nikkistevej]

I just went here in Maryland to get mine renewed- and as of last June your social security records have to match your DMV records- well mine don't. Social Security has no record of me being married- even though I've been married for 14 years, filled out the papers in 1996, and have renewed my license 2 times since then. So not only did I have to go to DMV I had to go to Social Security(FUN)- because you can't do that over the phone or online. I was also having to go on Saturdays(because of work) and started this whole process almost a month before it expired- but we had snowstorms that closed the DMV on 2 Saturdays and 2 holidays during this time. So I didn't get mine done until after it actually expired. Ridiculous!!!

 

[golfgal]

Here we bring in our old license and your checkbook. They take a new photo every time you renew, but not if you change your address. If you change your address you bring in your old license, fill out a form and they mail you a new license (with your same photo) on it in 2-6 weeks. It is something like $8 for a new license and $35 for a renewal--BUT we have a state income tax so we still pay a LOT more in overall taxes then you do in Florida.

 

[C.Ann]

Yeah, with NY's enhanced drivers license it's a royal pain to get a renewal. I had to bring mail, birth certificate, old license, etc. What are you gonna do, though!?!

What is NY's "enhanced drivers license"? I'm in upstate NY - renewed my license last October.. All I needed was my old driver's license and an eye exam report - since I have to wear glasses all the time..

They did take a new photo - which I didn't know they were going to do as they hadn't done it in years - and I have to say it's a very, very scary photo!!

 

[aprilgail2]

They didn't update the picture? thats crazy!

The picture on my license is from when I was in my 30's---I am almost 47 now and my license is good until 2017--I will be 54 and my license pic will be from when I was in my 30's LOL...I renew by mail and they just keep using the same photo over and over.

 

[Straitlover]

but we had snowstorms that closed the DMV on 2 Saturdays

YOur DMV is open on Saturday?? Wow, lucky you! No such luck here in NC. I had to sign out time from work 2 weeks ago to go renew my license. No renewing online, either, as they re-do the picture each time (now 8 years up to age 69, eveyr 4 years age 70 and up).

All I had to take w/ me was my old license.

 

[NotUrsula]

Looks like we have to have SSN (which they will allow you to give verbally, which seems odd), proof of address, and one of the following: passport, birth certificate, cert. of citizenship or naturalization or birth abroad. I guess they don't accept the newly-expiring DL anymore. Guess I'll be sending off to Santa Clara County, CA, for another copy of the birth certificate.

The nice thing I just noticed is that if you have a 15-year history of driving in MO, they'll give you what's basically a provisional license (can't be commercial) that's good for a year to allow you to get your documents together. That's cool of them.

The irony is that all you need to get a passport is a birth certificate (if you are native-born and underage.) So I take my passport into the Dept. of Revenue and zio right through while everyone else takes out their big stack of documents.

When I was there last I saw SIX people turned away for trying to use a birth certificate that was issued by the hospital instead of the county/state. Really, who thinks that a hospital-issued birth certificate is legal? I never knew that any hospitals intended them as anything more than a keepsake.

 

[portocall]

Here we bring in our old license and your checkbook. They take a new photo every time you renew, but not if you change your address. If you change your address you bring in your old license, fill out a form and they mail you a new license (with your same photo) on it in 2-6 weeks. It is something like $8 for a new license and $35 for a renewal--BUT we have a state income tax so we still pay a LOT more in overall taxes then you do in Florida.

How high are your state income taxes in Minnesota? I pay less in taxes than my family members in Florida despite the fact that I pay state income taxes. (I was born and raised and all my family now reside there) Property taxes over there are killers (at least their county... can't speak for all of Florida)

 

[DaisyLynn]

I live in Maine. I got married and changed my name - I thought I was so good, I checked online to see what I needed to change my name on my license, then I followed it up with a phone call to the branch. I went into the DMV, waited 1.5 hours, got up to the window. Didn't have my passport or birth certificate...because their website was not updated and the woman I spoke with did not mention that I needed that, or she was not listening to me when I listed off what I was bringing in. I was so livid! I felt like I did what I needed to do - they did not do their part. I had to take another afternoon off work to get it done. The response I got from the girl at the window? "You didn't see the sign over there telling you what you needed?" This "sign" was a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper with a list (in small print) taped to the wall on the far side of the office.

I do recall it being pretty cheap to do, though...so I can't complain about that. Maybe 10 bucks?