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Real ID / Real Hassle Rant

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Well, just wasted my time at the DMV, where a document that says "birth certificate" across the top with the date and time and both my parents full name with a raised gold seal and a certified witness signature is not a birth certificate. It is a "certificate of birth"

If the only document they are going to accept is from the State dept of Vital Statistics, they should just say so on the web site, where they detail you what they need.
All I can say is, I know how to read. If people are going down there and being rejected for having the wrong documents, then they are not being clear when they detail their prerequisites.
 
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Was the document written in Crayon? DMV is the biggest pain in the neck. Don't even try to get anything done at DMV without taking the day off and bringing an interesting book.
 
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Just trying to get the word out. Beginning October 1, 2020, Pennsylvanians will need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, photo ID card, or another form of federally-acceptable identification (such as a valid passport or military ID) to board a domestic commercial flight or enter a federal building or military installation that requires ID.

They could simply post on their site that Hospital issued Birth Certificates are unacceptable. But instead, they will just continue to generate these kinds of negative experiences.
I tell ya. I'd rather go to the dentist than the DMV.

Last time I was there, I stood 20 minutes and then was told I was in the wrong line when all I needed was my pre-paid photo ID taken. I was then directed to another line.
I said “it would be nice if I would have known that “ and I was told "there's a sign was on the entrance door telling if you are here for photo ID go to desk “c” .

When I left, I looked for the note I never saw. It was not on the entrance door. There was no room. So they posted it on the left door.
The left door, however, is an exit door, that door swings out. So visitors like myself never see the sign if somebody is leaving as you are entering.
 
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Yeah NY has IDs that aren't necessarily valid RealID for flights - if you haven't gotten a new one recently. It took our state forever to start issuing them - and to have one you have to have renewed and provided documentation. Fortunately I had picked up an enhanced ID a few years back for easy access to / from Canada so that one DOES count.
 
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You can always carry a passport. Safest thing to do because I know Louisiana DLs will eventually not be accepted as identification for air travel. Even an expired passport is considered federal identification if I remember correctly.

As far as the DMV I take along everything, utility bills, old DL, Birth Certificate, Certificate of Live Birth, current arrest warrants....... everything!
 
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You can always carry a passport. Safest thing to do because I know Louisiana DLs will eventually not be accepted as identification for air travel. Even an expired passport is considered federal identification if I remember correctly.

As far as the DMV I take along everything, utility bills, old DL, Birth Certificate, Certificate of Live Birth, current arrest warrants....... everything!
yep re: passport. something I never obtained but will at some point.

as to the DMV - i try to be over prepared to hopefully be able to leave sooner. I always try to plan my trips to avoid what are the busiest times (at open, at close and around lunch - also end of month)
 
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yep re: passport. something I never obtained but will at some point.

as to the DMV - i try to be over prepared to hopefully be able to leave sooner. I always try to plan my trips to avoid what are the busiest times (at open, at close and around lunch - also end of month)
Good advice, but at this point I do not think there really is no way to be prepared for this place. Abandon hope, all who enter here.
I got there 5 minutes after they opened with a folder full of items from the "real ID checklist" . Spares included. And backups. Only one Birth Certificate though.
The greeter at the door asked me why I was there, and when I told her, she immediately asked for my birth certificate, and shot me down right away.
I can imagine the woman is either a psycic medium, or this happens quite routinely. Why don't they fix the problem and post exactly what does / does not quantify?

I went by the State's sites' "- U.S. birth certificate with a raised seal, issued by an authorized government agency " . Apparently a Birth Certificate with a raised county seal is not "authorized"

Another State link to the "real ID checklist" says "Certified copy of a birth certificate filed with the State Office of Vital Statistics with a raised / embossed seal "
So I need NJ State Verification. um I guess. I was born in NJ and I do not see raised seals on sample NJ Vital Stats records as above.

@Boudie Yeah, I'm just going to get a bloody passport. I'll be able to fly domestic with that. This state is a mess.
 
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I got there 5 minutes after they opened with a folder full of items from the "real ID checklist" . Spares included. And backups. Only one Birth Certificate though.
The greeter at the door asked me why I was there, and when I told her, she immediately asked for my birth certificate, and shot me down right away.


Dude you got caught at the DOOR? Damn, I'm normally the poor ass #76 when they are helping # 26 and 3 hours later I find out I have the wrong stuff!! or worse yet, waiting in the wrong que!!
 
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I got mine in CA. Was very easy. Used my passport, SSN card, property tax bill and paid my fee. Was really easy.
I don't think the PA system really knows themselves what's going on. Too soon, I guess.

Yep. Passport first is the way. That's the new plan. Already renewed the standard driver's license online for now.
...................... of course, I'll have to go back there to get my picture taken....


 
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Cigary43

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In Ga they let you walk in with a note from your neighbor and give you a 10 year DL....so I'm good til Im 75.....actually all I needed was my last DL..pay my $15 and then got some lunch.....15 minutes.
 
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Bureaucracy in the state institutes is often too much. It’s one of the reasons I try to deal with them as little as possible. Every encounter with a state official is usually a stress for me because there’s very little logic in their actions.
Once my passport got detected by a security fake ID scanner in an airport, and it took me days to prove to them it was a mistake and that I was a real person. I had to sign many papers and go through at least three personality checks before they confirmed my document was not forged. And it wasn’t even my fault.
 
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I see that they have yet again extended the deadline for real ID. How much you want to bet that the day I have to fly out for an emergency and not have my passport the law will be enforced..
 
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