Drivers, MVD clerks need to know new license rules
Wouldn’t it be great, now that the state Motor Vehicle Division has eased up on the requirements for a driver authorization card (DAC), if all New Mexicans showed up at the neighborhood MVD office with the documents they need, and all state and contract MVD clerks knew exactly what was required?
Sure it would. But considering many drivers and clerks still don’t understand what’s required under the federal Real ID Act, which the state adopted two years ago, that’s overly optimistic. (A Real ID driver’s license is accepted for federal purposes, including boarding a plane after October 2020. A DAC allows you to drive legally.)
From drivers who show up with a file folder of random paperwork and expect a clerk to sort through it, to clerks who ask for documents that are not required , it has been a hard road for many.
The DAC changes, announced Friday, are the result of a settlement agreement that resolved a class-action lawsuit. They have lessened the requirements so that folks who want a DAC now only have to provide:
1. One document that shows the applicant’s name and date of birth. The list of 34 possible documents includes a driver’s license that has not been expired more than a year.
However, if an applicant cannot prove he or she is in the United States legally and their New Mexico driver’s license is expired, they will have to be fingerprinted.
2. Two proofs of residency that have name and street address (homeless residents just need one, which can be a notarized letter from a shelter they stay at). The list of 14 possible documents includes current utility bills (except cellphone), rental agreements, insurance bills, pay stubs or bank statements.
In the news release announcing the changes, MVD’s parent agency, Taxation and Revenue, said “the MVD will train all staff and contractors on the revised requirements” as well as “inform New Mexicans previously denied a Driving Authorization Card or non-federally compliant ID card about their options to resolve the reason for the denial and their right to appeal the department’s decision.” Both need to happen.
Meanwhile, the list of documents accepted for a Real ID license or DAC is at www.mvd.newmexico.gov. All New Mexico drivers, including MVD clerks, should read it.