What to do if you lose your driver's license while on a road trip?
January 13, 2015 9:20 AM Subscribe
I didn't loose my license, but this is something I have been wondering for sometime now.
say if you are on a 2-3 week road trip across the country(USA) and you lose (just lose the physical license card, not your driving privileges) your driver's license, what do you do?
Can you just file a police report in the state you are currently in and use a copy of that to complete your trip or are you totally screwed?
In MA, you can order a duplicate license online, then print out (e.g., at the nearest Staples) a receipt, which is valid proof of that license.
posted by Melismata at 9:57 AM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Melismata at 9:57 AM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've been stopped without my license card, but I know my DL# and recited it to the cop. Cop was a bit more nervous than usual but after looking it up on his laptop he could match my picture and info to the car's registration and all was fine. Really, the card has no magical abilities other than carrying your license # and other vital info in one place so the police can view it. They're going to call it in no matter what to check for status and outstanding warrants. This was in Illinois, YMMV.
tldr: bring a snapshot of your license as a backup or memorize the number?
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:41 AM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
tldr: bring a snapshot of your license as a backup or memorize the number?
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:41 AM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
When we travel for significant periods of time, or to potential dodgy areas, we make digital and hard copies of all governmental documents. A photocopy of a passport has worked surprisingly well when it's been necessary to use, so I would think a drivers license photocopy would be as valid. (Having said that, this was crossing the US/Mexico border in 2000; times have undoubtedly changed.)
And if you're hypothetically on a road trip without a paper copy, then that's just hypothetical unpreparedness and shouldn't be allowed.
posted by tracicle at 10:54 AM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
And if you're hypothetically on a road trip without a paper copy, then that's just hypothetical unpreparedness and shouldn't be allowed.
posted by tracicle at 10:54 AM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've scanned my license and passport and made it a .pdf that I've emailed to myself and to my immediate family in case I/they need proof of documents after documents are lost. The email sits in my account and I can pull it up on my phone or print it out anywhere if needed. I also have my license number memorized.
posted by quince at 11:35 AM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by quince at 11:35 AM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I didn't know that a cop would accept a scanned copy of a DL.
That's good to know.
posted by WizKid at 12:01 PM on January 13, 2015
That's good to know.
posted by WizKid at 12:01 PM on January 13, 2015
When I was learning to drive they said the fine in Maryland for driving without your license was $1. No doubt it's gone up since then. Realize this crime is very different from driving without a license. If you don't even have a copy of your license, the cop who pulls you over will still be seeing your details on his squad car's computer within moments, just by searching on your name and address. Naturally he'd prefer using a photocopy of your license for this.
posted by Rash at 12:24 PM on January 13, 2015
posted by Rash at 12:24 PM on January 13, 2015
If you're a Floridian you call DHSMV and ask for a temporary permit to tide you over 'til you get home. See the 5th paragraph here. DMV jokes aside, be super-friendly even if you're in a bad mood and they will find a way to help you.
posted by easement1 at 1:00 PM on January 13, 2015
posted by easement1 at 1:00 PM on January 13, 2015
they will find a way to help you.
The BC folks were able to help me within a working day, when I was stuck, way back when.
posted by bonehead at 1:06 PM on January 13, 2015
The BC folks were able to help me within a working day, when I was stuck, way back when.
posted by bonehead at 1:06 PM on January 13, 2015
I didn't know that a cop would accept a scanned copy of a DL.
This is not great advice. do not count on being able to do this everywhere you'd be on a road trip. In states where not having your license on you is a decent sized to big ticket, you're going to get that ticket and are likely going to get a lot of your time wasted. It's very similar to not having proof of insurance, at least here.
I know that in my state they're only going to accept an actual physical card, paper or plastic. And you can only get a paper card at a DMV, by waiting in line, in that state. You can request a new one online, but it can only be mailed to the address on the license(and you can't change that online).
That said, i drove from nevada to seattle with my license buried so deeply in a box that it would have taken probably 45 minutes to dig it out. I planned, if pulled over, to just do the recite the number thing and accept my ticket.
Somehow, to me at least, my spidey sense makes it feel like having a photocopy would make an asshole cop go "how do i know this isn't fake?" and waste 10x more of your time(probably before even looking it up on their computer) and just generally hassle you. I suspect this because of the fucking mountains of hassle with my state tribal ID, which is technically a valid federal id(even at the border!) but causes every cop to think i'm some faker/illegal immigrant/etc. If a real ID is worthy of that much hassle, a photocopied one seems even worse.
posted by emptythought at 2:13 PM on January 13, 2015
This is not great advice. do not count on being able to do this everywhere you'd be on a road trip. In states where not having your license on you is a decent sized to big ticket, you're going to get that ticket and are likely going to get a lot of your time wasted. It's very similar to not having proof of insurance, at least here.
I know that in my state they're only going to accept an actual physical card, paper or plastic. And you can only get a paper card at a DMV, by waiting in line, in that state. You can request a new one online, but it can only be mailed to the address on the license(and you can't change that online).
That said, i drove from nevada to seattle with my license buried so deeply in a box that it would have taken probably 45 minutes to dig it out. I planned, if pulled over, to just do the recite the number thing and accept my ticket.
Somehow, to me at least, my spidey sense makes it feel like having a photocopy would make an asshole cop go "how do i know this isn't fake?" and waste 10x more of your time(probably before even looking it up on their computer) and just generally hassle you. I suspect this because of the fucking mountains of hassle with my state tribal ID, which is technically a valid federal id(even at the border!) but causes every cop to think i'm some faker/illegal immigrant/etc. If a real ID is worthy of that much hassle, a photocopied one seems even worse.
posted by emptythought at 2:13 PM on January 13, 2015
Screwed for what? The only thing I've used my physical driver license card for in years is as a general ID. If you have another form of ID, that's no problem. You could still check into hotels, get through the TSA in an airport, buy liquor... The only thing I can thing that might be a problem is you probably can't rent a car without the card, because that's specifically about driving. Oh, and trying to get into a night club with a passport might not work out.
In the unlikely event you get stopped for speeding or whatever, you just tell the truth; you lost it. They can check. (Even in states where this is an offense, you're not going to get a ticket just for that. It gets tacked onto all the other charges when they're pissed at you for something else.)
posted by ctmf at 10:20 PM on January 13, 2015
In the unlikely event you get stopped for speeding or whatever, you just tell the truth; you lost it. They can check. (Even in states where this is an offense, you're not going to get a ticket just for that. It gets tacked onto all the other charges when they're pissed at you for something else.)
posted by ctmf at 10:20 PM on January 13, 2015
Although, now that I think about it, my comment is based on being a mid-40s white dude. I might think twice about Driving While Black without a license in some areas.
posted by ctmf at 10:26 PM on January 13, 2015
posted by ctmf at 10:26 PM on January 13, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
In a situation where I had a valid licence, but no card (stupid story involving a move), I was able to get a fax of proof of licence from my original province, from B.C. They even followed up by issuing a "licence without ID", i.e., no photo. As it turned out, I needed it at a traffic stop within the week. Fortunately, the temporary fax of my provisional licence without picture was accepted by the Ontario cop at the roadside, albeit with a bit of hemming and hawing.
So, no, it's possible you wouldn't be screwed, but I bet that every state/province/country does this a bit differently. I wouldn't want to count on it though.
posted by bonehead at 9:29 AM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]