Passport Card

[S1drfl]

4 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Agreed - having to go to the CT DMV every few years for renewal of the license with the star (which I now have) is more of a hassle than carrying passport and/or Global Entry card (which is easier to get/renew than dealing with the DMV.

Good news.  CT has recently started supporting license renewal on line.

[navybankerteacher]

33 minutes ago, S1drfl said:

Good news.  CT has recently started supporting license renewal on line.

I heard just the other day that the on-line renewal process applied only to regular, not enhanced, licenses.

[Charles4515]

3 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

I heard just the other day that the on-line renewal process applied only to regular, not enhanced, licenses.

 

Enhanced licenses are not the same as Real ID and I don't think they are available in CT. Here in Maryland you can't renew a Real ID license online. 

[navybankerteacher]

2 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

Enhanced licenses are not the same as Real ID and I don't think they are available in CT. Here in Maryland you can't renew a Real ID license online. 

True - I was referring to an “enhanced” (lower case “e”) license as being “Real” - rather than routine,  and not “Enhanced”   —- there are different ways you can enhance things - so any improvement of the functionality of a driver’s license is actually enhancing it.   Governments should be more thoughtful in coming up with terms to define their programs.  For example: any license which has substance and exists has to be considered “real”, even if not “Real”.

[Charles4515]

27 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

True - I was referring to an “enhanced” (lower case “e”) license as being “Real” - rather than routine,  and not “Enhanced”   —- there are different ways you can enhance things - so any improvement of the functionality of a driver’s license is actually enhancing it.   Governments should be more thoughtful in coming up with terms to define their programs.  For example: any license which has substance and exists has to be considered “real”, even if not “Real”.

 

There is an Enhanced Drivers License issued in some states on the border so it is best not to use the term enhanced for Real ID as some have been confused gone and paid extra fee for those EDLs that did not have to.

[sparks1093]

19 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

The DMV here has a mobile unit that comes once a month across the street from my condo. 😀 I have a Real ID license and in our state you can only get those if you are a US citizen. 

As I recall anyone that can show legal presence in the US can obtain a REAL ID compliant license, so a Lawful Permanent Resident would qualify.

[sparks1093]

17 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

There is an Enhanced Drivers License issued in some states on the border so it is best not to use the term enhanced for Real ID as some have been confused gone and paid extra fee for those EDLs that did not have to.

A very good point. The term Enhanced Drivers License is a specialized one and any other use of the term muddies the waters. I have read of one account of a passenger thinking that their REAL ID compliant license was all that they needed because of its "enhanced" nature and the only thing that saved their cruise was the timely faxing of their birth certificate to the port.

[Ferry_Watcher]

3 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

A very good point. The term Enhanced Drivers License is a specialized one and any other use of the term muddies the waters. I have read of one account of a passenger thinking that their REAL ID compliant license was all that they needed because of its "enhanced" nature and the only thing that saved their cruise was the timely faxing of their birth certificate to the port.

As someone who worked at Seattle's Pier 91 during the Alaska cruise season, I can attest that for every cruise there is some poor soul that has shown up without the proper ID.  The majority of those passengers were able to get a copy of their birth certificate faxed or photo texted/emailed to the port in time to board the ship, but others were not so fortunate and didn't sail.

[Charles4515]

4 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

As I recall anyone that can show legal presence in the US can obtain a REAL ID compliant license, so a Lawful Permanent Resident would qualify.

 

Yes. Let me explain. In some states US citizens can opt not to get a Real ID license and don't have to go to the DMV. In some they can renew online but won't get a Real ID DL. Some states charge extra for a Real ID license. It is opt in. It varies by state. Here US citizens can only get Real ID licenses. They can not get non Real ID compliant licenses. We have to go to the DMV for those. Undoctumented immigrants can get drivers licenses here. Only those people without documents can get a non Real ID DL.

Edited February 8, 2021 by Charles4515

[sparks1093]

6 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

Yes. Let me explain. In some states US citizens can opt not to get a Real ID license and don't have to go to the DMV. In some they can renew online but won't get a Real ID DL. Some states charge extra for a Real ID license. It is opt in. It varies by state. Here US citizens can only get Real ID licenses. They can not get non Real ID compliant licenses. We have to go to the DMV for those. Undoctumented immigrants can get drivers licenses here. Only those people without documents can get a non Real ID DL.

If you were saying that a US citizen in Maryland only has no option and has to get the REAL ID then I mis-read your post and I apologize.

[Charles4515]

6 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

If you were saying that a US citizen in Maryland only has no option and has to get the REAL ID then I mis-read your post and I apologize.

 

That is what I was saying but no need to apologize. I can see how you could read my post that way. 

[Hlitner]

In Pennsylvania our experience was similar to Sparks.  If we wanted a Real ID Drivers License we had to go, in person to PennDOT with the required ID and proof of residency.   In our case we simply used our Passports which made life easy.  Otherwise the required documentation was somewhat more complicated.  But in our State, even to renew a regular (not Real ID) license a person has to go to a PennDot drivers license location to get a new picture.  It cannot be done online.

 

Hank