Thread: Real ID.
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Old 03-28-2019, 09:51 AM
OrangeBlossomBaby OrangeBlossomBaby is online now
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If you mean the Drivers' License that has the star imprinted on it, it was no inconvenience at all. The price was the same with or without the star, which indicates that the license is valid as a Federal ID. The SelectID program in Connecticut was implemented in 2011, and I got my "star license" when my last regular license expired a few years ago. Really not a big deal, and it's a great idea. In Connecticut, all I needed was this:
Two forms of identification - such as a birth certificate and/or a passport.
Proof of address
Proof of social security number
Proof of any name changes

Most people have most of this documentation already. It's pretty easy to get the rest of it. Birth certificates can be tricky if the town hall in your home of birth burned down before the advent of the internet and the records were lost, but birth certificates are necessary for a lot of things, not just federal ID cards so it's in your best interest to get one long before you actually need to present it to anyone.

Also no, it wasn't implemented to curtail "illegals with drivers' licenses." The law has been on the books since at -least- 2011, and was slated to become officially effective in 2017. All states had at least these 6 years to prepare for the law's full effect, and obviously they got a couple extra years because some states still aren't in compliance. This was a measure, if I recall correctly, as part of a very long, arduous overhaul to federal security in the wake of 9/11/2001. It was intended to streamline the process of getting properly-identified American citizens through airport security and enter Federal buildings, and for various commercial transactions.

Last edited by OrangeBlossomBaby; 03-28-2019 at 09:58 AM.