Since March 8, 2005, Utah residents without Social Security Numbers (SSNs) issued by the Social Security Administration, but who have Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are no longer eligible to receive a Utah Driver's License or a Utah State Identification Card. Instead, such people will be eligible to receive a "Driving Privilege Card," which will allow them to operate a motor vehicle, but will be valid for any purposes of identification.
Here is how the State explains the change, in
a Q & A about Senate Bill 227, "Public Safety Driving and Identification Card Amendments,", which implemented this change:
"
Q: What does this law do?
A: This law revokes the use of an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) issued by the Internal Revenue Service to obtain a Utah Driver's License or a State Identification Card. Those individuals using an ITIN will be issued a Driving Privilege Card rather than a 'Driver's License.'"
American Politics Today spoke this afternoon with Lt. Doug McCleve, Public Information Officer at the Utah Department of Public Safety, about the new "Driver Privilege Card" being issued to Utah residents without Social Security Numbers.
You can listen to that audio interview with Utah Department of Public Safety Public Information Officer Lt. Doug McCleve, in its entirety, by clicking
here.
During that interview, Lt. McCleve indicated that, since Senate Bill 227, the "Public Safety Driving and Identification Card Amendments" went into effect on March 8, 2005, approximately 3200 of these identification documents have been issued to Utah residents.
Lt. McCleve also pointed out that the requirements for getting a "Driver Privilege Card," in terms of demonstrating knowledge of the state's driving laws and demonstrating the ability to drive a motor vehicle are identical to those for getting a "Driver's License." The only difference in the two cases is that individuals without SSNs, but with ITINs, are issued a "Driver Privilege Card," instead of a "Driver's License."
According to the Department of Public Safety spokesperson, either of these documents is equally valid for the purpose of obtaining the automobile insurance that every Utah resident must have in order to operate a motor vehicle under the laws of the state.
Lt. McCleve repeatedly and emphatically made it clear that, under most circumstances, Utah state police do not and will not involve themselves in immigration matters in the case of routine traffic stops of individuals carrying a "Driver Privilege Card" instead of a "Driver's license."
The state spokesman pointed out that, starting on July 1, 2005, the "Driver's Licenses" obtained previous to March 8, 2005, by individuals who qualified for them, as they then could, by providing an ITIN rather than a SSN, will expire on the next birthday of the cardholder following that date, regardless of any previously-indicated, but later, expiration date.
Individuals holding a Utah State Driver's License on the basis of an ITIN will, absent a SSN, be issued, if otherwise qualified, "Driver Privilege Cards" in lieu of their prematurely-expired "Driver's Licenses."
The state spokesperson said that state legal officials are looking into the impact on this bill with the provisions of the REAL ID Act of 2005, recently adopted by the Federal Government. The REAL ID Act of 2005 sets nationwide standards for the state issuance of driver's licenses, and bars the use of such documents for federal purposes (such as boarding an aircraft) where certain standards, including establishing proof of one's legal resident status within the U.S. with a Social Security Number, are not required under state law.
Lt. McCleve said that Utah fully intends to comply with the provisions of the REAL ID Act of 2005, and that doing so might, or might not, put these provisions for a "Driving Privilege Card" out of business.
The Utah spokesperson's comments about the unsettled situation regarding the exact provisions for the implementation of the REAL ID Act of 2005 echo the content of a recent
American Politics Today article, published on June 3, 2005, entitled
"U.S. Department of Homeland Security says "it is too early in the process to discuss the type of technology that may be required" to implement the "common, machine-readable technology" provision of the REAL ID Act of 2005."
