APOD Firearms

(Venting) - Driver’s license renewal

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  • candcallen

    Crotchety, Snarky, Truthful. You'll get over it.
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    Jul 23, 2011
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    Little Elm
    I was told Dacatur or W Falls. I dont mind driving 2 hours or 3, over the same time or more waiting in line with all those hacking coughing stinking people.

    Also, if you already have the star on your license showing up is for the pic update only. You shouldn't need all those documents to prove identity for the national ID rules as you already did that.

    I think part of the problem is everyone has to have that ID update this year under the fed ID rules regardless of when they last renewed. If they didnt show all those documents they have to now.
    Capitol Armory ad
     

    Bozz10mm

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    Oct 5, 2013
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    I renewed mine last August at one of those Mega Centers in Georgetown. 3 third try was quick and painless once I figured out the system. Total time was about 25 minutes. Doesn't count the 2½ hours we spent in Austin to get a certified copy of my birth certificate.

    The problem is the Feds requirement for all states to comply with the REAL ID rules. Precludes a lot of folks from renewing online. And those who aren't aware of the new requirements end up making two or three trips to the DPS before they get it right. (Like me)

    Now my wife's renewal is coming up and I'm wondering if things have gotten worse since then. It sure sounds like it.
     
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    kbaxter60

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    Jan 23, 2019
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    For those of you going, and have a checklist of what to bring, you may want to bring more than asked for. We took four trips because they kept asking for more info and the last time we went, they asked for SS cards, even though it was not on the "list" that we had been given. Luckily, I had mine and we had a tax doc that listed my wife's number and they accepted that. Note that at the bottom of your SS card it says "Not to be used for identification purposes".

    To be fair, the first trip was on us because we hadn't gotten our car registered in TX yet. That was another grand runaround, for sure.
     
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    Bozz10mm

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    A list of items I brought with me on the final trip:

    1. Certified copy of birth certificate
    2. SS card
    3. DD 214
    4. Military ID
    5. Water bill (for proof of residency)
    6. Completed form DL-43 ( You can fill it out online and print it. Much easier than filling it out at the DPS)
    7. Proof of vehicle insurance
    8. Current DL

    What they actually asked for: (YMMV)

    1. The birth certificate
    2. The DD 214 (for the Veteran's status on DL)
    3. Form DL-43
    4. Current DL
     

    lonestardiver

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    Eagle Mountain Lake area
    I don’t have a birth certificate but rather a report of birth abroad so some people have never seen one and things get interesting. I know for my TSA precheck they questioned that document since it didn’t have a document number (the government added those later) they spent lots of time validating it.
     

    GoPappy

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    Dec 18, 2015
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    . . .

    Instead of filling prisons with non-violent offenders, we should just sentence them to renewing their driver's license every day for a few weeks. Unfortunately, it might violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

    :laughing: lol! Great idea!
     

    oohrah

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    Jul 24, 2013
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    Heart O' Texas
    A passport works great also. If you don't have the gold star Real ID, you will need to appear in person with proof of citizenship (if you haven't before). Real ID goes into effect Oct 1st, 2020, and will be needed to board an aircraft or other TSA ID check.

    You can renew anytime ahead of time if you do not already have Real ID.

    McLennan County has "get in line on line" and the wait is minimal.
     

    dsgrey

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    Oct 25, 2015
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    Denton County
    Might try heading up to a more thinly populated area, maybe Grayson County or one of the bordering ones. I've done that before and left Tarrant and drove down a half hour or so to Waxahachie in Ellis County and it was a breeze. Did it for two of my kid's driving tests as well.

    Helps to get there pretty early too. The later in the day it gets, the longer the wait is.

    The one in Sherman (Grayson) wasn't too bad when my sister-in-law who lives in Sherman went recently. I would not recommend Bonham (Fannin) since it's only one person working the office and Plano/McKinney residents have decided to try it. I lived in Fannin for 20 years without issue until 2 years ago and it was a 5 hour ordeal back then though there were only around 2 dozen people waiting.
     

    hoghunting

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    I went online and made an appointment for the center in Garland. Got there about 10 minutes early, checked in at the kiosk and was called at the appointed time. Took about 10 minutes and I was finished. Very easy.
    You can only make an online appointment for the day you are going but beats sitting there for hours.
     

    gdr_11

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    For those of you with wives who have had previous name changes, I strongly suggest she obtain a Passport Card or full Passport before applying for the TDL. My wife, who had a previous divorce and another name change, had all kinds problems meeting the name change documentation and was facing a lengthy process to get documentation for things that took place 40 years ago.

    I had her obtain a US Passport Card using her current documentation and she sailed through the TDL process afterwards. If we had done this in the first place, things would have been much easier.
     

    SA_Steve

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    Oct 1, 2014
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    San Antonio, Texas USA
    I remember when I moved to Atlanta, GA 20 years ago. Gave up on the local DPS's and drove 60 miles to find one with an 'all day' wait. Good deal !
    The new governor a year or two later ran on straightening out the mess.

    They did arrest several DL folks at my nearby office in Atlanta for selling DL's.
    (Price was right, no waiting, and if you were an illegal person, no problem)

    My son in Denver, Co used to renew his at a kiosk at the mall.
     

    busykngt

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    Jun 14, 2011
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    McKinney
    Will an expired Passport work?
    No, I don’t think it would. I recall reading on the DPS website, documents provided, have to be fairly recent. “Proof of residence” (water bills, etc.) have to be dated within the last year or some such thing. I suspect they’d want to see an American Passport that contains the RF chip embedded in it - BUT that wasn’t addressed on the DPS website. However, it did list “a passport” as an acceptable substitute for a birth certificate.

    Interestingly enough, it did list a ‘car title’ as a “proof” document and those can be much older than a year! (Mine is several years old). But car titles might not be a good thing to use, especially if they have an old, past address listed on them - that could potentially work against you.
     

    Inspector43

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    Jul 12, 2017
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    Colorado County, Texas
    Thank God this only comes up every once in awhile - otherwise, I’m pretty sure there’d be an armed insurrection against the Texas government!

    Got notice from the DPS, this time around, I had to appear “in person” in order to renew my Texas drivers license (non commercial).

    Went down to Plano today in hopes of having better luck than the McKinney location (my home town). No such luck; line was out the door, wrapped around the corner and down the side of the building. Un-fricken-believable!

    I know Carrollton - drivers license “mega center” -has the ‘call ahead’ or get “inline, online” thing but that’s a pretty good drive over there for me. Thinking it might be worth driving up to Paris in hopes of not spending a half-day (or more) waiting in line. Anybody got the lowdown on Paris’ drivers license wait in line?
    I just got a survey from, I think, UT Austin about the DL process. Many of the questions were directly related to the current customer service issues: waiting in line, being locked out, finger printing, place to sit, not allowed to stand and wait, online, etc. The survey read like it was a compilation of comments that I have heard lately. I filled it out and then trashed it. I wish I would have saved a copy.
     

    SA_Steve

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    Oct 1, 2014
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    San Antonio, Texas USA
    What's great is the TV screens distributed around the Leon Springs DPS that manage your visit and direct you to your examiner.
    They are all bogus and a DPS rep comes out and shouts real instructions/directions once in a while.
     

    popper

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    6 1/2 at Plano Independance office, before Christmas. Been like that for several years.
     

    Bozz10mm

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    Oct 5, 2013
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    Georgetown
    Renewing the wife's DL. So, in addition to the DL form 43 that we filled out at home, we'll be bringing along her birth certificate, our marriage license, social security card, medicare card, and military dependent ID card. Hopefully we have everything covered. No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.

    Made an appointment online for 9 am at the DPS Mega center in Georgetown.

    After action report to follow.
     
    Every Day Man
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