More ID Madness

[kevin_standlee]

I had cause to get my signature on a Nevada state document notarized. I could find nothing that required that it be witnessed by a Nevada state notary, so rather than wait until this weekend, I stopped by the UPS Store near my office where they always have a notary on duty.

"Could I see your driver's license, please?" the notary asked.

I said, "You don't need it," as I produced my passport.

He started to insist that he had to see a driver's license, "Because I need to verify your address."

I pointed out that my address [in Nevada, but it's perfectly valid; technically right now, it's my second home as I'm still a California resident] is on the document he's witnessing and that I'm signing under penalty of perjury. Grudgingly, he agreed to notarize it, and indeed, his notary book has "passport" as one of the check-boxes for methods of verifying ID.

I assume that people are so used to one and only one way of checking ID that any of the other valid methods make their brains start to melt.

Addendum, 11 PM: Several of the people in the comments are talking about what's a proof of residency. Y'all are missing the point in this story. Despite what the notary said, he didn't need to verify residency. He has to write down an address in his notary book, but he doesn't have to independently verify any of the information on the form I was signing, just the fact that the person who appeared to match the ID (my passport, in this case) signed the form.

Had I needed to prove my residency in California, I think I would have produced my voter registration card to go with my passport. Had I needed to prove an address in Nevada, I would have produced the bill of sale for Fernley House. I'm aware of the distinctions here, thank you.

Comments

[scott-sanford.livejournal.com]

As someone who's done this professionally[1], the business should have a list of accepted ID forms and make this clear to everyone involved.

ID I've accepted: drivers' licenses, state IDs, passports, military ID cards.

ID I've declined: grossly expired licenses, other people's drivers' licenses, library cards, high school ID cards, drunk tank booking paperwork, a state ID which had been mostly eaten by a dog, and one out-of-state jail ID card.

[1] I never cared WHO was in the store, just that they were of legal age to purchase whatever they were getting.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Which proves that you are a thoughtful, intelligent person, rather than a trained monkey taught to do one and only one thing.

[drewkitty.livejournal.com]

I do this sort of thing for a living.

Proof of identity is not proof of residency. A passport does not prove you are a resident of Nevada. As you are discovering, residency is a complex subject and has a lot to do with intent.

A government-issued photo ID is a government-issued photo ID. A community college ID is issued by a special district and is as valid as one from the DMV for proof of identity. However, many organizations have to follow special regulations and/or rules, such as firearms dealers, where the auditors are exact and the penalties are massive.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Yes, I know that. But there was nothing on here that said that the notary's job was to verify my residency. All he has to do is attest that I am the person who signed the form. I'm the one who is signing under penalty of perjury about the particular form. (And in this case, the form didn't have to be completed by a Nevada resident, since you're allowed to own a business in Nevada without being a resident of that state.)

[drewkitty.livejournal.com]

The notary's job is to verify identity. A lot of other people are interested in verifying residency.

I was going to post the government-issued proof of residency that any US citizen can get online for $20, but you probably already know which one I'm talking about.

Everyone else can get an Alaska non-resident small game hunting license. https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=license.fgstore

[rono-60103.livejournal.com]

Back the first time I moved to California (1998), I ended up back in Chicago for Capricon and to supervise the packing of my apartment prior to its contents being moved.

While there, I picked up a couple of things at the Target near where I'd lived prior to the move. I wanted to write a check. But all I had for ID was my California, temporary, paper drivers license (with no photo) and my passport which I'd used to board the plane. I tried to give the clerk the passport, but she could not find any option for a passport on the cash register. Finally I gave her my photo-less drivers license, which she could happily accept - it had a California drivers license number.

(Entirely unrelated, but since then I've learned that both Illinois and California will issue you the same license number if you leave the state and move back. So, while I've changed my official residency 4 times - New Mexico to Illinois, Illinois to California, California to Illinois, and Illinois to California for a second time - I've only had 3 different number. With not too much thinking, I could probably say them, but I won't on a public forum)

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

California did give me my old drivers' license back when I returned to the state after several years' absence. But they insisted on issuing new plates and wouldn't let me put the old ones back on my car.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

Drivers' license number, I mean. New physical license.

[drewkitty.livejournal.com]

I've had the joy of refusing to accept temporary DLs, even with a photo receipt, because they are not proof of identity.

Passport, no problem.

As for check verification, companies compare notes on bad check passers and that's why they need the driver's license number. Passports are nearly useless for tacking down a specific person unless you also record DOB.

[yourbob.livejournal.com]

Having lately been dealing with state, county and other organizations that needed to verify my residency, the only thing they've been taking is a rent receipt or some sort of official correspondence (e.g. utility bill with address or mail From the state/county/ or some organization with a recent postmark).

My drivers license hasn't had my correct address for a number of years. The one time I had to use it for address, the person took the handwritten "official" change of address card California gives you, because that's the way the State says it works.

[howeird]

The DMV says to put your current address on the back of your driver's license if you move. I use a return address label. I haven't received a change of address card for any of the dozen times I've moved in CA, though I have always registered the moves with the DMV.

Mountain View will take any government-issued photo ID plus a utility bill as proof of residency.

[jane-dennis.livejournal.com]

When 14 yr old me wrote checks for plane tickets (at the counter - omg, I'm ancient!) usually my passport sufficed for ID. But occasionally I'd run into a nitwit who asked for my drivers license. Then I'd have to explain to them that I wasn't old enough to drive, and what a passport was.

Le plus ça change...

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

Now a days, you would need to get a non-driving ID card (you can be any age for that). We got one for Moose when he was only 15, since he wasn't ready to learn to drive and an ID card is useful.
But yes, the Passport. I gave one to the person checking me out of an I-9 and they were so confused, insisting on another form of ID. I explained that for an I-9 a Passport and a green card are the only forms that only require 1 form of id (they both are proof of working status and a picture id on one form). Gah.
I also confuse the hell out of them when flying. I always travel with the passport. ;)

[travelswithkuma.livejournal.com]

This is whys bears stays ins thes woods

[drewkitty.livejournal.com]

A good plan.