![](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125848007/171291417.jpg)
A current California driver’s license will enable you to buy a drink at a bar, rent a car or open a bank account, but in about three years it won’t get you aboard an airplane for a domestic flight.
California Traffic School Online. CA drivers Licenses expire after five years. The time to check on the status of your license to make sure that it is still valid.
In compliance with a post-9/11 mandate by Congress and a Department of Homeland Security directive, the Department of Motor Vehicles on Monday began issuing REAL ID driver’s licenses and identification cards, distinguished by the golden bear and star in the upper right-hand corner.
Come Oct. 1, 2020, the card by itself will allow you to pass through a Transportation Security Administration airport checkpoint or enter a military base or most federal facilities. Until then, any valid California license or ID card will get you in, and even after that date other options are available.
Consequently, there is no need to rush out for a REAL ID card — which will require an in-person visit to a DMV office with certain documents — and the DMV wasn’t experiencing a crush Monday or even expecting that many of the state’s 26.5 million licensed drivers were apprised of the new regimen.
“We aren’t seeing longer than usual lines today,” said Jessica Gonzalez, a DMV spokeswoman. “We know that some people are just learning about REAL ID, so we want to take this opportunity to make sure they are aware of the process and what they need to apply for one.”
![California Driver License Lookup California Driver License Lookup](http://minesf.com/resources/cca/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/new_california_driver_license.jpg)
There are about 365,000 licensed drivers in Sonoma County.
Californians applying for a new or renewed driver’s license now have the choice between the REAL ID card or what’s now known as a “federal noncompliant” card, both $35.
Both bear the image of a gold miner on the right side and California poppies at the bottom left, under the driver’s color photograph. Ultraviolet light reveals an image of the driver’s photo, birth date, Golden Gate Bridge and Coit Tower.
The golden bear graces the REAL ID card, while the regular card says “Federal limits apply” above the miner’s head.
Residents do not need the REAL ID card to drive, apply for or receive federal benefits, visit a hospital or receive life-saving aid, or enter a federal facility, such as a post office, that does not require identification.
And by showing a valid U.S. passport or passport card, you can still board an airplane, enter a military base or secure federal building, military identification or other form of TSA-approved ID.
To apply for a REAL ID card at a DMV office, residents must bring proof of identity, such as a certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate, U.S. passport, employment authorization document, permanent resident card or foreign passport with an approved form I-94.
Also required are proof of a Social Security number (such as a card, W-2 or pay stub with the full number) and a California residency document (rental or lease agreement, mortgage bill, utility bill or employment, medical or school document). A name change document such as a marriage certificate or divorce decree may be required.
The law behind it all — the REAL ID Act of 2005 — was intended to standardize driver’s license standards nationwide.
The DMV recommends making an appointment for an office visit, which may be done online at dmv.org. For information on the new licenses, go to REALID.dmv.ca.gov.
You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 707-521-5457 or [email protected]. On Twitter @guykovner.
Dear Joan:
I’m curious about something: California driver’s license numbers.
I got my license in Merced in the mid-1950s, and the number starts with “H0.”
My wife got hers in Menlo Park around 1960, and her number starts with “M1.”
How does DMV assign numbers?
I like your column. Any chance of doing it twice a week? Daily?
— Scott W., Pleasant Hill
Dear Scott:
The California Department of Motor Vehicles was kind enough to provide some insight.
According to the e-mail, driver’s license numbers are issued by series. For example, license numbers H0001001 through H0999999 were issued from Sept. 11, 1957, through Jan. 11, 1959. At that time, the driver’s license numbers were assigned in sequential order by processing personnel at DMV headquarters.
The DMV currently is working on the series E3000000 through E3999999.
Because of computerization, each individual office is now assigned an inventory of driver’s license numbers that are is loaded into a processor and assigned in sequential order to each application for a driver’s license or identification card.
Neither the letter nor the numbers have any meaning except as noted above.
Not that this would provide much insight, but like Social Security numbers where the first three digits can tell you where the person was living when he or she applied for the card, one could use the numbering system to determine how long someone has had a license.
As for increasing the frequency of my column, I share this space with Gary Bogue and Pat Craig, and unless one of them wants to give up a slot, I’m limited to Saturdays.
I think I could take Pat in a winner-take-all grudge match, but Gary’s a wiry guy. He is planning on going on a rattlesnake hunt, though, so there’s a window of opportunity. (Just kidding, Gary.)
Dear Joan:
Do you have any information on a company called “Magazine Offer Center”?
They send out what look suspiciously like legitimate invoices for magazines I already subscribe to, except that their subscription rates are about twice the actual rates.
They send out their “invoices” in a plain envelope with no return address. Their “invoice” has no phone number, but it does have a watermark that reads “Magazine Processing Center, Inc.”
Their mailing address is Magazine Offer Center in Muncie, Ind.
— Bill J., cyberspace
Dear Bill:
There is a possibility that this is a legitimate company, but everything points to it being an old scam that hundreds, if not thousands, have fallen victim to over the years.
I found a legitimate business by the name of Magazine Process Center, but it’s nowhere near Indiana. And I found other businesses by that name with scores of consumer complaints against it, including one whose owner was convicted of fraud for selling nonexistent subscriptions.
As far as I could determine, the address you provided me is to a commercial mailbox center, and that doesn’t bode well at all.
Although you haven’t sent them any money, you might want to contact the state or federal Attorney General’s Office. I’m sure there are others who might not have been so cautious, and it’s important to alert officials as soon as possible.
There are legitimate businesses that sell magazine subscriptions, but to be on the safe side, it’s best to deal with the magazine directly. And when you start getting renewal notices, always check the label on your magazine to determine when your subscription expires.
Send your questions to Joan’s World, c/o the Times, P.O. Box 8099, Walnut Creek, CA 94596-8099, or [email protected].
![](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125848007/171291417.jpg)