To the editor:
As concern about the security of state-issued identity documents has increased over the past few years, many states made changes to their requirements for issuing driver licenses and identification cards. Maine is no different. At my urging, the Legislature adopted Maine’s first ever residency requirement earlier this year in an effort to ensure credentials cannot be easily obtained by people with no legitimate reason to hold them. Even now, four months after the residency requirement took effect, we’re working to raise awareness of the changes and to streamline the process for getting a license or ID card.
Simply put, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) must have documentary evidence of a person’s physical address within Maine before a new driver’s license or ID card is issued, or before an existing license or ID card will be renewed. The easiest way to prove state residence is with an existing driver’s license or ID card that displays your physical address. If your current license or ID card contains that information, you don’t need anything else! Of course, a lot of licenses display a mailing address or a post office box, so a list of acceptable documentary evidence is available to guide people in meeting the new requirements.
Plenty of documents work just fine for proving residency; the key is inclusion of a person’s physical address. Examples include tax returns, pay stubs, contracts (like a mortgage or lease agreement), even utility bills (phone bill, heating oil bill, gas bill, cable/satellite TV bill, etc.) will work. Your license or ID card will still display your mailing address, and the physical address will be noted in the system. You don’t need to provide proof of residency again unless your physical address changes.
The BMV Web site is a great way to learn what you’ll need when it’s your turn to get or renew a driver’s license or ID card. Surf to http://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/index.html and check out the Featured Topics section. With gas at almost $4 a gallon, it just makes sense to double-check and make sure you have everything you need before you make the trip to your nearest BMV branch.
Maine’s secretary of state