7/12/2011
Idaho's transition to new driver's license is complete
BOISE - Idaho’s transition to a new and more secure driver’s license is now complete, the Idaho Transportation Department announced.
The new driver’s license was introduced across the state in phases beginning in May and was completed in June. Almost 30,000 driver’s licenses and identification (ID) cards were issued during that period.
The cards have a new look, state-of-the-art security features and a new way of being issued. Licenses and ID cards are issued from a central secure location rather than over the counter.
Customers now leave county licensing offices with a temporary paper license or ID card, valid for 30 days. The new plastic cards are produced at the central facility and mailed within about 10 business days.
“We are proud of how well the rollout of the new license went,” Alan Frew, the department’s division of motor vehicles administrator, said. “We are also proud of how the cards will better protect Idahoans from identity theft and fraud.”
The central issuance system is used in 24 states. Idaho now joins Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington in using this process.
Idaho drivers with current licenses can wait until their licenses expire to renew.
One of the lessons ITD learned from the rollout is how important it is for customers to provide an accurate and full address. Some applicants are forgetting to put their apartment or mobile home space number on the application and are not receiving their card in the mail. For people staying with friends or family members, listing the address “in care of” the primary resident’s name will help the postal service.
“I want to thank the public for its patience,” Frew said. “In each of the 53 locations where licenses and ID cards are issued, there were adjustments that needed to be made. People recognized that it was a new process and were very understanding .”
For answers to frequently asked questions about the new licenses, visit itd.idaho.gov/dmv/centralissuance.htm
EDITOR'S NOTE: Video and audio are available to support this story.You can access it by clicking the link below:
Server: ftp1.idaho.gov
Log on with the user name itdcommuand use the password W39gy7D2. For those who do not have FTP software, the video and audio can be retrieved from http://itd.idaho.gov/news