Wednesday, April 21, 2021

My Driver's License Was Expired For Over Four Months, But I Didn't Know It

Oh my god, I feel like such a stupid idiot. 

I can't believe that I was walking around for over four months with an expired driver's license. Thank heavens I don't own a car because at least I wasn't driving with an expired license. 

And the only reason I discovered that it was expired was because back in late February, I filed my taxes online and I needed to enter my driver's license number and some other information on my license in order to finalize the direct deposit process for security purposes. 

As I was typing my license renewal date and expiration date in the online tax form, I suddenly spotted the mistake. 

My expired date read: October 2, 2020.

I'm like, "OMG..TODAY IS FEBRUARY 26, 2021!!!"

And I'm like, "HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN? HOW DID I NOT KNOW TO RENEW MY LICENSE?!?!"

That has never happened to me before, so I was totally confused. 

And then it hit me, "I know how it happened. I forgot to notify the DMV after I changed my apartment number address when I moved into a different apartment three years ago; therefore, the renewal notice never reached my new apartment. THAT'S how it happened!"

So after finishing my taxes, I immediately went on the Pennsylvania DMV website to see what I needed to do to correct it. And I also checked to see if they would charge me a penalty fee for allowing my license to expired. And, yes, sure enough...I read that they charged an additional $25.00 fee.

Oh well, I had no other choice than to pay the extra fee and get my license renewed as fast as I could.

I noticed on the DMV website that they gave you the option to renew your license online so that you didn't have to go to the DMV office.

But guess what?

When I entered all the necessary renewal information on the form and pressed the ENTER button, a notification suddenly appeared (in red lettering, I might add), that informed me they would not accept my renewal online, and that I needed to phone the DMV directly.

So, the next morning I called them to see what was up.  

And I'm sure many of you know how utterly annoying it is to be placed in a long telephone queue (20 minutes to be exact), while listening to loud obnoxious music, the kind that sounds as if your ears are being stabbed to death with an ice pick, only to get the brush-off once a customer service representative finally does come on the phone. 

The representative I got was completely unhelpful. And I could tell that she hated her job because she was impatient and just plain rude. Anytime I started to ask her a question, she would cut me off. She informed me that I could not renew my license over the phone, but that I would have to go into the DMV office and renew it in person. 

double--

So I got dressed and walked 14 blocks to the DMV. And on my way there, I suddenly got this intuitive feeling in my gut that the office would most likely not be crowded that day because Philadelphia was in the middle of a snowstorm. I mean, only someone like me (who loves snow) would walk to the DMV on a day when there was a storm.

And I was right! When I walked into the office, there were only four people sitting in the waiting room. 

*doing the happy dance*

After filling out the information form, I suddenly heard my customer number being called over the intercom system and was instructed to go to one of the service windows.

From the time it took them to check my information, pay for the license, and take my new photo, I was literally in and out of that office in no more than 10 minutes!

And before leaving, I thanked everyone who worked there for being so pleasant and efficient. 

Oh, and guess what?

They didn't charge me the additional $25.00 fee.

*doing an even more exuberant happy dance*

Yessiree, I danced out of that office with an updated driver's license and a photo with a big smile on my face...

Have a terrific rest of your week, everyone! 💗

Question:

When I got home that day, I noticed on my new driver's license the words, Not For Real ID Purposes, and didn't understand what that meant because I hadn't seen it on any of my previous licenses. Come to find out that back in October of 2020, Pennsylvania driver's licenses became no longer REAL ID compliant. Which means REAL ID's will be needed to board domestic flights and access federal facilities or nuclear power plants. Which was such a relief to me because I can't tell how much I've always wanted to visit a nuclear power plant. In fact, it's been on my bucket list for the past 25 years, so it would be a dream come true. LOL!

Anyhow, if I choose to get a REAL ID, I will need to present a long list of specific documents that prove who I am. Oy vey!

I'm curious, is it the same in your state? Does your driver's license say the same thing? And did you get a Real ID?

Thanks.