out-of-town ID

June 27, 2006 3:39 PM

I lost my texas state driver's license, the problem is that i'm in Washington right now on vacation and I need an ID. What do I do?

Among other things, I would like to be able to drive, purchase liquor, obtain entry to clubs, etc., however without my driver's license or a passport I don't really know what I should do. I need a new form of ID, and quickly. I have my birth certificate, but that's about it.

posted by deafweatherman to travel & transportation (14 comments total)

Try going to the Texas state website for renewals and see if you can take care of it there. You'll need to know your TXDL number (I don't, honestly). You will probably wind up having it mailed to your home address, so you'd need to have someone intercept it there.

The real problem (unless things have changed) is that the state can take weeks to mail out renewals, etc. There is a number on that site you can call, maybe they can help you out.
posted by adamrice at 4:11 PM on June 27, 2006

Might you be able to get a Washington ID card? Might take a few days, though.

As far as driving, I personally wouldn't worry about that until you get pulled over, and then fake having just lost your wallet or something. In CA at least, it's a correctable offense to not have your license on you, as long as you do have a valid one somewhere.
posted by trevyn at 4:19 PM on June 27, 2006

What do you need ID for exactly?
posted by crypticgeek at 4:37 PM on June 27, 2006

I think you're probably screwed. Think about it: if you could get ID with just a birth certificate, in a state where you don't even claim to live, without any other supporting ID at all, then so could Osama bin Laden. (Birth Certificates are a matter of public record and anyone who wants to can get a copy of any birth certificate belonging to anyone.)

The rules associated with issuing ID are designed to prevent bin Laden from getting valid American ID, and that means you won't be able to either. You're going to have to return to Texas, I think.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 4:46 PM on June 27, 2006

crypticgeek writes "What do you need ID for exactly?"

From the original question: "Among other things, I would like to be able to drive, purchase liquor, obtain entry to clubs, etc."
posted by chiababe at 4:47 PM on June 27, 2006

You could get a passport. You'd have to overpay an expediting service and come up with proof you're leaving the country [Canada would count, an itinerary for a plane ticket]. Google for passport expediting and see what comes up. I'm assuming the birth certificate you have is a certified version which has a raised seal. If it is just a copy, you're screwed.

Getting a replacement card via the web for Texas will take time so you might want to do that to get the ball rolling.

I hope you're not flying back to Texas since you'll need a government issued ID to get on a plane.
posted by birdherder at 5:05 PM on June 27, 2006

He won't need a gov't issued ID to get on the plane, but he will have to submit to more rigorous screening.
posted by Merdryn at 5:08 PM on June 27, 2006

Are you in Washington state or Washington D.C.? If it's the latter, definitely get a pssport.
posted by nathan_teske at 5:37 PM on June 27, 2006

chiababe, I must have had temporary blindness...I have no idea how I missed that.

Anyway, depending on Washington law you might be okay to drive without actually having physically in your posession a license as long as you do actually have a valid one they can look up however they do that. How did you loose it...do you still have the rest of your wallet with credit cards and such? That will come in handy for proving your identity to the police if you need to.

As for buying liquor, get someone else to do it...I mean...it sounds childish but if you find a nice person and explain yourself it shouldn't be hard.

As for clubs, guess you're SOL there. It sucks, but I'd say either go home and salvage your vacation some other way or find something else to do.
posted by crypticgeek at 5:42 PM on June 27, 2006

Washington State law calls for the license to be on the driver's person, unfortunately.
posted by EatTheWeak at 7:32 PM on June 27, 2006

I don't see how you could get a passport without already having valid ID. Just showing a birth certificate isn't enough.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 9:03 PM on June 27, 2006

You should be able to buy a fake one,this is Amercia. I know in LA its easier to get on on the street then the DMV.
posted by zackdog at 12:23 AM on June 28, 2006

I don't see how you could get a passport without already having valid ID. Just showing a birth certificate isn't enough.

Actually that's not true. If you do not have a required form of government issued photo ID, you can submit multiple forms of non-photo ID (e.g., social security card, bank statement, university id, library card, etc.) and bring along a witness to vouch for your identity. They fill out an affidavit affirming your identity and, iirc, take a sworn oath to that affect.

It can be done.
posted by nathan_teske at 1:44 AM on June 28, 2006

texas DPS will issue you a new one, long distance. they did this for me (when, oddly enough i lost my TX DL while in DC) back before they even had digital licenses (they issued me what was essentially a note from the DPS saying I was a licensed driver and had 90 days to get a new photo taken). at the time, texas had no problem with out of state addresses on their driver's licenses (they are home of record for a lot of active duty military personnel). i even paid for overnight service.

you're pretty well SOL on the nightclub thing, until you have a photo ID (when i was in DC, i had trouble getting into clubs with a passport, go figure). you can't get a state photo ID (from VA or MD or DC or, I imagine any state) without proof of residency in that state.
posted by crush-onastick at 7:38 AM on June 28, 2006