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.
Beginning February 10, all new driver license applicants will receive a license that’s valid for six years, as the Department of Licensing starts transitioning from a five-year to a six-year driver license.
New driver license applicants include individuals applying for their first license and those who are transferring their licenses from another state.
The per-year cost for a driver license will remain at $9 per year, but new applicants will pay for the additional year, which changes the fee from $45 to $54, not including the $35 application fee.
Adding a new motorcycle endorsement for up to six years will cost $2 per year.
Washingtonians who are obtaining their first Washington state ID cards will also be issued a card valid for six years beginning on February 10, at a cost of $54, or $9 per year.
Those renewing a current Washington driver licenses or ID cards will start transitioning to a six-year renewal period later this year.
In 2012, the Washington State Legislature authorized extending driver’s license terms from five to six years to improve customer service by reducing customer volumes and wait times in driver license offices.
The process of getting a suspended license reinstated can seem daunting. For many, it’s a labyrinth of trying to figure-out which courts and/or agencies must be contacted in order to clear-up unresolved cases.
But now, the Department of Licensing is offering a fast and simple solution people can use to piece all of that information together.
“We want to make it as quick and easy as possible for them to get their license back,” said DOL spokesperson Brad Benfield.
After the user enters some basic information, the online app provides a specific list of what that person must do to get his or her license reinstated.
“What we’re finding is that people are able to go online, use the reinstatements program, and systematically work their way through all of the issues that they need to work through to get their license back. And as they continue to check in on it, those things that they’ve taken care of come off the list until the day when they find out that they’re actually eligible for reinstatement,” Benfield said.
That’s a huge departure from the common scenarios that’ve played-out for years: people using their valuable time to go to a DOL office or calling the agency as they attempt to figure-out how to get their license reinstated.
Now, all of that information is at a person’s fingertips. You might say the app puts you at the front of the line.
And it’s free.
Believe it or not, there are companies who charge to provide you with this same information.
Benfield also has this heads-up for people who’ve only recently learned that their license will be suspended.
“Until that license is actually suspended, they’re not going to be able to use this system because it provides a snapshot of what’s going on with their record on any given day. If their license hasn’t been suspended yet, (the app’s) not yet going to reflect that. “
The DOL recently produced a video about the app and posted it to its YouTube channel.
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