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Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,039
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

It's not a big deal, check the website before to make sure you have the appropriate documents beforehand.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,441
Registered: ‎11-15-2011

@Lindsays Grandma wrote:

@Bird mama wrote:

@Lindsays Grandma  It was the 1920's.  Things were different back then.


Thanks for bringing that to my attention.  It still upsets me that a doctor could arbitrarily decide to do what he did.


My uncle was also born in the 1920s.  The midwife put the name of my uncle's father's business as the last name because she couldn't spell my uncle's Polish surname.  He used that name from the time he joined the Marines at age 17 until his death.  Fast forward 13 years later when my father was born.  My uncle's father had died and my grandmother was pregnant with my father with a man she was not married to.  The midwife put my grandmother's dead husband's last name as my father last name to avoid any embarassment from my grandmother having a baby out of wedlock.  My father used his own father's name until he joined the Marines and then took the name on his birth certificate as his last name for the rest of his life.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 10,371
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

I got my Real ID years ago using my married name.  The DOT didn't question the difference between my married name and my SS card or birth certificate.  

 

Still, you might call your DOT.  I don't think I'd go into detail but just explain that your birth certificate doesn't match your current name and see what they say.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,315
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

@icaughtu.....I cannot answer your question but, when I was getting the new ID in my state I had several questions...the new law was just insistuted in my state in July, and the employees at the DMV were not able to answer my questions....I called my STATE office...I did a live chat, and they were very helpful...you might go that route.  Good luck.

 

When I was getting my license there was a woman very frantic in the DMV trying to get her 'new' license...she had been married and divorced 2 times and to the same man....the state did not know how to handle her situation!  They eventually figured it out but she was quite upset.

Regular Contributor
Posts: 187
Registered: ‎09-26-2010

I live in California and now going through this.   I have been divorced and DMV informed me I would need marriage license and divorce papers from first marriage and marriage license from current marriage. I have been married to my current husband for 42 years and had no reason to keep papers from past marriage. So now to get this REAL ID I will have to track down divorce decree and marriage license from first husband.  Someone told me to obtain a passport, it is much easier to obtain.  

Honored Contributor
Posts: 9,654
Registered: ‎06-10-2015

I would think whatever name is on your SS is valid for anything.  You worked for the government, have a drivers license, vote and are most likely collecting SS and have Medicare.  How did you get all that without a birth certificate?  I would go to your local SS office and see what they say.

  My dad born at home in 1919 had no birth certificate and he got SS and Medicare along with a lot of people of his generation.  

 

I dont think you need to feel as though you are a criminal.

BE THE PERSON YOUR DOG THINKS YOU ARE! (unknown)
Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,681
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Why don't you apply for a passport?  If you have a passport you don't need a real ID driver's license.

 

My name on everything my whole life was not the same as my birth certificate either.  My first name on my BC is Margaret but I went by Peggy on everything including my driver's license and social security cards.    I did have enough documentation though to prove that the two names were both me.  I had a lot of old school records including report cards with both names.  Even my senior yearbook has my name as Margaret in one place and Peggy in another.  I even had a hospital bill from when I was born - my Mom thankfully kept everything.  I provided anything I could think of/get my hands on to prove who I was including pictures.  It worked.

 

Good luck.

Valued Contributor
Posts: 631
Registered: ‎03-15-2010

@icaughtu, go to your state's DMV website and look for driver's license renewal, real ID requirements.  In my state, Wisconsin, in addition to a birth certificate, they also accept an unexpired photo driver's license, passport, social security card, or US government ID card as proof of identity, as well as many other items.  I would suggest taking a few of the available items on your state's list when you renew just in case they won't accept one of them.  I got my real ID renewal license last spring and it wasn't a hassle at all.  Make sure you renew well in advance of your expiration date just in case you run into problems.  I certainly wouldn't spend the money to consult an attorney until absolutely necessary.  Try renewing first.  You're not penalized for having to return a second time with additional documents.  Good luck!

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,213
Registered: ‎03-30-2014

I ran into something like this with a mother with a birth name and an "adopted" name.  

 

The problem  is that you will have to prove that the name on your birth certificate (which can NOT be changed) is the same as whatever maiden name you used on your marriage certificate.  Depending on this match, it may not be valid unless you have a courted ordered name change prior to it.    

 

A passport applied for today will not solve this.

 

Later you will also need to check on the maiden name you used on your children's birth certificates.  Turns out I have a phantom mother who was not married to my father.  I finally gave up.  Siblings just roll their eyes since most of theirs do match.

 

And yes, you can live for years with bad records, including a faulty passport, because they did not check for a valid birth certificate back in the 1950s.

 

It is really cheap and fast to get a name changed through the courts.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,315
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Maybe you should try for a Passport instead.  Although I think you need your birth certificate also