| News Release |
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| New driver license ID rules take effect Feb. 4 at DMV |
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February 1, 2008
08-023
Verifiable Social Security number and U.S.ID documents required
Radio MP3:Download an MP3 version of FAQs at www.oregon.gov/ODOT/COMM/radionews.shtml
Other downloads: Brochures with lists of acceptable documents and FAQs are posted at www.oregon.gov/ODOT/DMV/news/id_news.shtml
SALEM – Oregon DMV will begin using tighter identification standards when it issues driver licenses, permits and ID cards on Monday, Feb. 4.
Under the new rules, when a customer comes to a DMV field office to apply for a first-time, renewal or replacement card, DMV will electronically verify the Social Security number provided by the customer.
“The change will be invisible to the customer,” DMV Administrator Tom McClellan said. “The verification takes place electronically while our staff performs the customer’s transaction.”
Applicants whose SSNs can be verified will need to show DMV at least one other ID document from a new list of acceptable documents – such as the customer’s expiring Oregon driver license, a valid driver license from the customer’s prior home state, a U.S. or Canadian government-issued birth certificate, or a U.S. passport that is not expired more than five years.
Applicants whose SSNs cannot be verified will need to work with the federal Social Security Administration to correct the problem before DMV can complete the customer’s transaction. The SSA can be contacted at www.socialsecurity.gov or 1-800-772-1213.
There are several reasons why an SSN cannot be verified, such as a name change or a discrepancy in a name’s spelling or a person’s date of birth between DMV records and the Social Security Administration records.
“Based on the experiences of other states, up to about four percent of applicants’ Social Security numbers won’t be verifiable,” McClellan said. “If DMV and the customer can’t resolve the problem, the customer will need to work with the Social Security Administration to correct the problem before DMV can issue driving privileges or an ID card.”
Under the new rules, Oregonians who do not have an SSN still may apply for driving privileges or an ID card. These applicants must sign a statement that they never have been assigned an SSN, and they must present at least one valid document from a DMV list of U.S.-issued identification. These include a U.S. passport that is not expired or is expired no more than five years, or unexpired U.S. immigration documents with a valid foreign passport.
Other requirements for driving privileges and ID cards remain in effect. Applicants still must provide DMV with proof of Oregon address and pass tests to qualify for driving privileges, and applicants younger than 18 also must provide proof of enrollment in school. DMV has the discretion to request more than one piece of identification from customers.
Complete lists of acceptable documents are available at DMV field offices and at www.Oregon.gov/ODOT/DMV/.
Oregon revised its driver license and ID card issuance rules as a result of Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s Executive Order No. 07-22 on Nov. 16, 2007. The order directed DMV to tighten ID requirements as quickly as possible in order to reduce fraud by bringing Oregon’s ID requirements in line with other states’ standards. Nearly all other states verify drivers’ SSNs, but Oregon has been verifying only those of commercial drivers.
“Oregon’s previous rules attracted people from other states to come here and falsely claim to be Oregon residents,” McClellan said. “Bringing Oregon’s requirements in line with those of other states removes the incentive for these false applications. And the tighter requirements and shorter lists of acceptable documents help prevent ID theft and fraud, as well as make the application process simpler.”
The new rules deal only with ID requirements and do not address broader public policy issues such as whether Oregon should require proof of U.S. citizenship or legal immigration status prior to issuing a license, whether a license’s expiration date should be tied to a visa expiration date, or requirements proposed under the federal Real ID Act.
“This change does not make the Oregon driver license or ID card proof of citizenship or legal immigration status, or proof of entitlement to government benefits,” McClellan said. “Those things will continue to have their own eligibility standards.”
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| More Information |
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For more information, contact:
DMV Public Affairs
(503) 945-5270
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