DOL Director Teresa Berntsen, right, welcomed Alex Fan, director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle, for a reciprocity agreement renewal signing Thursday.
The Department of Licensing on Thursday commemorated the renewal of an agreement that makes it easier for drivers from Taiwan or Washington state to transfer a license from one place to the other.
The reciprocity agreement allows Taiwan nationals living in Washington, such as college students, to skip the driving and written licensing exams if they are already licensed to drive in Taiwan. Washington residents living in Taiwan have the same option.
In the five years since the initial deal was reached, more than 2,300 Taiwanese drivers have obtained Washington driver licenses through the reciprocity process.
Renewal of the pact was formalized in a signing ceremony in the office of DOL Director Teresa Berntsen, who was joined by Policy and Legislative Director Beau Perschbacher. Representing Taiwan were Alex Fan, director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle, and consulate Tony, Nien-Tzu, Hu.
“The signing of this agreement highlights the strong relationship between the state of Washington and Taiwan,” Berntsen said. “It also demonstrates our joint commitment to streamline the licensing process.”
Drivers from Taiwan seeking a Washington license will need to visit the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle to have their current license properly translated and verified prior to visiting a DOL licensing service office.
DOL has reciprocity agreements with four other jurisdictions: British Columbia, Germany, South Korea, and Japan.
DOL’s Beau Perschbacher, center, and Meg McCann welcomed Uli Fischer, Boris Ruge, and Ulrich Suedbeck (left to right) of Germany.
This week, the Department of Licensing — represented by Beau Perschbacher, center, and Meg McCann — welcomed some special guests from Germany: Uli Fischer, Boris Ruge, and Ulrich Suedbeck (left to right).
They were in Olympia for a ceremonial signing to commemorate the renewal of a driver license reciprocity agreement. The pact allows Germans living in the state to exchange their German license for a Washington one without having to go back through the testing process. The same courtesy is extended to Washingtonians living in Germany.
The agreement has been in place for 14 years, during which time more than 4,000 Germans have obtained Washington driver licenses via the agreement.
The Washington State Department of Licensing launched a modernized driver licensing system over Labor Day weekend. Customers will experience slower service during this transitional time.
The new system will improve services to citizens, agency business partners, and the state’s transportation system. State and federal agencies that rely on DOL data for public safety, licenses, identification cards, and revenue will also benefit from the new system.
This is the second in a series of overhauls to DOL’s legacy systems. The first phase, which updated vehicle licensing systems, was successfully completed in December 2016. A third project is planned to address the agency’s Business and Professional Licensing systems.
New marking to be added to all standard-issue driver licenses and ID cards
Choose the identification that works best for you. (Click for larger view)
Olympia – Starting July 1, 2018, the Department of Licensing (DOL) will begin marking all standard driver licenses and ID cards with the language, “federal limits apply.”
The change aims to bring Washington into compliance with the federal Real ID Act, which requires all states to mark identification documents that do not comply with the federal law. Under Legislation signed (app.leg.wa.gov) by Gov. Jay Inslee, DOL expects to be in full compliance with the REAL ID Act by fall 2018.
Over the next two years, all Washington residents will have to make a choice about their identity documents. By October 1, 2020, standard driver licenses and ID cards will no longer be an acceptable form of identification for boarding domestic flights and entering some secure federal facilities, like military bases and nuclear power plants.
DOL’s enhanced driver licenses (EDLs) and enhanced ID (EIDs) cards are Real ID compliant, and valid for travel as are passports, permanent resident cards and military IDs.
Standard driver license and ID cards can continue to be used for the following:
Driving
Applying for or receiving federal benefits
Entering a federal facility that does not require ID (post office)
An enhanced driver license or ID card is completely voluntary and optional. Some commonly needed documents to get an EDL/EID are certified birth certificate, U.S. passport or military ID.
A full list of document options for obtaining an enhanced driver license or ID card is available on the DOL website.
“If you know you will not be flying or already have a federally approved document such as a U.S. passport, passport card or military ID, you do not need an enhanced driver license or ID card,” said DOL Director Pat Kohler. “There is plenty of time to educate yourself on all options and choose the identification that works best for you.”
For a full list of federally accepted documents and information about REAL ID and what it means for Washington, visit the DOL website.
Software error prevented transmission of some licensing information to election officials
OLYMPIA — Nearly 7,000 voters will receive ballots this week for the February special election via first class mail due to a software error in the Department of Licensing’s (DOL) driver licensing database system that caused information to not be transmitted to the Office of the Secretary of State’s (OSOS) Voter Registration Division under Washington’s Motor Voter law.
Both OSOS and DOL have been working to ensure voters receive their ballots in time for the February Special Election. The data error was discovered in late January. Working with OSOS, the DOL Information Services team learned that when some customers changed their name (with or without an address change), and were assigned a new driver license number, those changes were made in DOL’s system but were not transmitted to OSOS’s system. Once the error was identified, the DOL team worked over the weekend of January 26 to develop and test a fix to the 30-year-old driver database system. The software fix was released into production on the evening of January 30.
DOL and OSOS worked together to match the voter data in the two systems. They determined the number of impacted voters is 6,969 statewide. These voters will receive special processing to receive ballots this week for the February 2018 election.
“We worked closely with the Office of the Secretary of State to identify and resolve this issue quickly,” said Pat Kohler, DOL Director. “We regret these errors occurred and we have put in place new controls that monitor daily transmitted voter information to the Secretary of State to ensure it is complete and accurate. This error underscores the importance of replacing our decades-old driver licensing database system, which is scheduled to occur this September.”
Kohler said DOL appreciates the partnership of the OSOS in this situation, and their willingness to work toward a solution. DOL will also reimburse County Auditors for the cost of mailing ballots to affected voters that didn’t receive ballots.
(Post updated March 13, 2:13pm with new sample driver license image)
Washington state is starting to issue newly designed driver licenses and ID cards aimed at better protecting residents from identity theft.
“This new card system has incredible security features in it that will really decrease the amount of counterfeit cards that exist in the world,” said Pat Kohler, director of the state’s Department of Licensing.
Those security features include fine-line printing and ultraviolet ink.
The state will roll-out the new cards over the next several months, beginning at its licensing office in Shelton.
“And sometime this summer, we would finish the roll-out at all of our 56 offices,” Kohler said.
The new licenses and ID cards have a new look, but their functions haven’t changed. The Enhanced Driver Licenses and Enhanced ID Cards (EDLs/EIDs) can be used for all federal identification purposes, including: entering secure federal facilities and, following the January 2018 federal compliance deadline, boarding domestic flights at commercial airports. Standard driver licenses and ID cards are still not valid for these federal purposes.
A flyer is available to learn more about these changes and to make sharing this valuable information easy.
NEW LOOK DOCUMENTS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
New header colors on WA driver licenses, enhanced driver license, ID cards
Want the new driver license before its available at your local licensing office?
Residents who are eligible to renew their license online will automatically receive the new-look license.
In fact, all documents purchased online will now be issued with the state’s new updates. Those documents also include ID cards, enhanced driver licenses, commercial driver licenses and temporary licenses.
BUT WHAT ABOUT MY CURRENT DRIVER LICENSE OR ID CARD?
You might be wondering, So, what about my current driver license?
Kohler said people don’t need to worry because all current licenses will remain valid until they expire, so nobody needs to make a special trip to have their license or ID card replaced.
TEMPORARY LICENSE WILL NO LONGER HAVE A PHOTO
Temporary licenses issued in driver licensing offices will now be printed on a full sheet of paper instead of being a paper copy of the actual license. This is similar to how it’s already done online, and will no longer include a photo.
Kohler said removing the photo should help prevent identity theft.
“The current temporary driver’s license is so similar to your original driver’s license that you get in the mail, it creates a false sense of security (because it is simply a temporary document).”
“HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THE EXPERIENCE FOR THE CUSTOMER?”
Kohler said the process of updating the state’s Central Issuance System also presented an opportunity at its licensing offices.
“It was great opportunity for us to look at process improvement, and look at how our customers flowed through the office,” she said.
A decision was made to change that flow.
Upon arriving at a licensing office, a customer’s first contact will now be with someone who will review their documents.
Kohler said this change is aimed at ensuring the customer arrived with the correct documentation needed for obtaining a driver license or ID card.
“This will save our customers a lot of time,” Kohler enthused. “They won’t have to sit around and wait, then come up and find out that they didn’t have the required documents. They’ll immediately be able to find that out and be able to know what they need to come back with. And at the same time, it doesn’t back up the line.”
Expect to see this new customer flow, wherein documents are reviewed upon the customer’s arrival, at all licensing offices by this summer.
VIDEO
The video below offers additional information about the state’s new driver licenses and ID cards.
DOL ONLINE
The Department of Licensing’s website is dol.wa.gov.
The Department of Licensing is expanding the number of offices where customers can obtain enhanced driver licenses, enhanced ID cards, commercial driver licenses and commercial instruction permits from 27 locations to 40 locations.
“Governor Inslee approved our plan to expand these services and it was funded by the Legislature,” DOL Director Pat Kohler said. “This will make getting enhanced or commercial licenses much more convenient for our customers and we expect it to help reduce wait times in many of our larger offices currently handling large numbers of commercial and enhanced driver license transactions.”
The Department of Licensing can’t offer these types of licenses in 16 of it’s smaller locations because they lack the staffing or equipment required to meet federal requirements for issuing documents that require applicants to provide proof of U.S. citizenship or proof of legal presence in the United States.
Enhanced driver licenses and ID cards, commercial driver licenses and commercial learner permits will now be offered at these driver licensing office locations:
Bellingham
Mt. Vernon
Oak Harbor*
Port Angeles
Bremerton
Poulsbo*
Downtown Seattle
Everett*
Lynnwood
Smokey Point
Shoreline*
Bellevue-Redmond
Kent*
North Bend*
Renton
West Seattle
Federal Way*
Lacey
Parkland
Puyallup
Shelton*
Tacoma
Hoquiam
Centralia*
North Vancouver
East Vancouver*
Kelso
Kennewick
Sunnyside*
Union Gap
Walla Walla
Ephrata*
Moses Lake
Omak
Wenatchee
Ellensburg
Colville
Spokane Valley*
Spokane
Pullman
* Newly added
Please note: Once issued, enhanced driver licenses and enhanced ID cards can be renewed at any driver license office, online or by mail. Customers who need to apply for a name change on an enhanced driver license or ID card are required to visit one of the offices above. Also, commercial driver license customers must always renew in person at one of the offices listed above.
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