As of July 2, Ohio residents can visit a local Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) to receive a new driver license or identification card. The catch is you are going to have to wait for it.
It takes about 10 days after visiting a Deputy Registrar, who will give you a temporary card and confirmation of driving privileges.
The Ohio BMV is working to make the process more secure and would like to protect customer identification. As the federal regulations are shifting, so is the Ohio BMV, now with one central point of production.
This act of having one production point is going to help in a few ways: Firstly, driver licenses and identification cards will be issued to only legitimate cardholders only, secondly, it helps in preventing the loss and theft of secure materials from Deputy Registrar agencies and lastly, it provides a more secure printing environment and reduces cost of necessary security renovations.
The national travel requirements have become stricter, so if you plan to travel after 2020 you should visit http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/NEWDL-ID/new-card-compare.aspx and click the tab titled National Travel Security Requirements.
For a list of the acceptable documents for a Compliant DL-ID Card you can visit https://services.dps.ohio.gov/BMVOnlineServices/DL/AcceptableDocuments.
For a Standard DL-ID Card the list is here http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/dl-identity-documents.aspx but you only need these things for your first one, and not a renewal.
So make sure you have all the papers and documents you need. Any further information you might want can be found here http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/NEWDL-ID/.
This seems to be a thing the federal government will be pushing on all the states, in an effort to keep illegal immigrants from obtaining licenses, and to keep from having any international risks, what with the tone of this presidential office.
Will the states get on board though? States who do not back the current president’s wishes may not support it, which is their right according to the tenth amendment. It is important you be aware of this now, especially as we continue to move closer and closer to the next presidential election.
So make sure to start figuring out which driver license or identification card you need, gather up those required documents and smile big.
Kelsey Fitzpatrick
Staff Writer