Their permit to drive is not in compliance with the Real ID Act.
Annapolis, Md (KM) The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration says it has recalled the driver’s licenses of 8,000 residents because they are not in compliance with the federal Real ID Act.
Administrator Chrissy Nizer says notices were sent out to about 80,000 residents in December, reminding them that they need to get their license into compliance with this federal act. She says 8.000 have not complied, despite repeated notices by mail, and in some cases over the telephone. And now these licenses have been recalled.
“To put an indicator on their driving record to say that their licenses do not meet the federal Real ID standards, and it’s a recall indicator,” says Nizer. “And so if law enforcement happen to pull those individuals over–and, to be clear, they would have to be doing some driving infractions to be pulled over–then they {[police officers} would see that on the record, and would have the ability to take that license.”
In order to prevent that from happening, Nizer says it’s important for these individuals to go to their local MVA office and have this situation straightened out. “We really want to be pro-active and help customers. And we just ask individual to reach out to us,” she says.
If you’re in that situation, Nizer says you can save time and make an appointment on line. You can also come in to the MVA without an appointment. Make sure you bring along your birth certificate or passport, your Social Security card or W-2 form, and a utility or credit card bill as proof of residency. These documents will be scanned and made part of your driving record.
Despite these 8,000 people in danger of losing their licenses, Nizer says the number of residents who are not in compliance with federal standards has been decreasing since the beginning of this year. “The number originally of people who were in this situation that they had the new driver’s license or ID card with the star, no documents, was about 1-million,” she says. “We’re down to 780,000 in that category.”
The federal Real ID law was passed by Congress after the 9/11 attacks.
By Kevin McManus