Ohioans are now navigating a new process to get their driver’s license, with one major difference from before.
Instead of being handed a new license at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, drivers will walk out of a deputy registrar’s office with either their old license or a document – good for 45 days while they wait at home for the new license.
BMV registrar Don Petit compares the process to receiving a credit or debit card from the bank.
“It comes in the mail, generally in about a week to 10 days, in a very plain envelope,” Petit says. “And we’re going to be using a very similar process for putting the driver’s license in our customer’s hands.”
Forty-one other states already mail licenses and state ID cards instead of printing them on location.
The new licenses are compliant with a federal proof of identity law, which takes effect in two years, intended to make cards more secure. To obtain a Real ID-compliant license, drivers must bring a birth certificate or passport, a social security card and two proofs of residency.
Those licenses will be needed to board airplanes after October 1, 2020.
