Do you need a license to hunt for enhancements?
It seems like just yesterday I wrote the “How to get an attractive driver’s license photo taken in 47 easy steps” column.
(“9. Schedule a hair appointment specifically for the photo. 10. Time the hair appointment for two weeks before the photo, so that it doesn’t look like you scheduled a hair appointment specifically for the photo.”)
But it has actually been several years, and now the card is set to expire again.
This time, however, an attractive photo is the least of my worries.
And there’s not one easy thing about the process anymore.
I received the license expiration letter a couple of months ago, made a note that I’d need to act on it by my birthday and promptly stashed it in a pile of papers without glancing at the TLDR ( too long didn’t read) notice. What could possibly be new?
Well, everything, I’d learn upon finally looking at it last week.
There is not just one driver’s license anymore. As of October 2016, there are two choices: Regular and Enhanced. Oh, so it’s like pedicures? As I do at the nail salon, I figured, I’d just get the Regular. The basic would suffice. I don’t need an extravagant spa- variety driver’s license.
Or maybe I do. Ooh, the Enhanced has a pretty gold star on it? OMG, license emoji? Want!
But the star is not the only or even the most notable thing that separates the Enhanced from the Regular.
In compliance with the Real ID Act of 2005 — aimed at deterring terrorism and identity fraud — these Voluntary Enhanced Security Driver’s Licenses ( or Identification Cards) will be required for boarding a domestic flight or entering a federal building as of Oct. 1, 2020.
Now, those who have only a Regular license can fly and enter federal buildings ( shame on you people who were scheming that this would be a great way to get out of jury duty) in 2020, but only if they provide additional identification.
I fly several times a year, and the last thing I need is more stuff to forget while packing. If I settled for the Regular license, I’d surely fail to bring the extra required documents and be sent directly to TSA timeout every time I traveled.
The Enhanced license was the way to go. I’d just go to a revenue office and get it. Not so fast. First, not every state revenue office offers them ( though 25 in Arkansas do). And there are additional valid forms of identification required. Exactly 1,348 of them. OK, five, but it might as well be 1,348. Here is what one must provide for an Enhanced license:
1. “Two ( 2) forms of legal presence and identity: Either a U. S. Passport, U. S. Birth Certificate or U. S. Visa with valid foreign passport, and a DL, [ state ID card], school or work ID, etc.”
2. “Two ( 2) forms of residency: Utility Bills issued in the last six months, valid Arkansas hunting or fishing license, personal property tax receipt or invoice, etc.”
3. “Social Security Number: Social Security card, Form 1099 with applicant’s name and full Social Security number, etc.”
Hmm. I know I have a passport somewhere. But it is certainly expired and needing some kind of Regular or Enhanced renewal too.
As for a birth certificate, trying to find it in my cluttered filing cabinet will make me wish I hadn’t been born.
As for the residency documents, do people still get actual utility bills? I don’t. The bank alerts me when an electronic bill ( that I never attempt to actually view) is due and I pay it. Recreational licenses? I don’t hunt or fish — unless my attempting to trap documents for this driver’s license renewal counts.
As for my Social Security card, that has to be somewhere. Somewhere I surely won’t discover until it’s time to collect Social Security.
If I can’t produce the proper identification for an Enhanced, I can always get the less- demanding Regular ( both eight- year licenses cost $ 40) and later upgrade to the Enhanced for an additional $ 10.
Still, I’m determined to secure my Enhanced license now.
It will enhance my life greatly knowing I don’t have to deal with any of this for another eight years.
For more information, call Department of Finance and Administration Driver Services at ( 501) 682- 7059 or visit ar. gov/ ID.