Driver’s license security to be tightened

COLUMBUS -- The days of walking into the county courthouse, taking the driver’s license exam and eye test, paying the fee and walking out with a new photo I.D. still warm to the touch are coming to an end.

The Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles is making some changes aimed at shoring up any security gaps in the processes for applying for a driver’s license, state I.D. card or permit, said Beverly Neth, the state agency’s director.

Improving security in the application processes in June goes hand-in-hand with technological advances that have made counterfeiting licenses and I.D. cards much more difficult in recent years, Neth said.

The old driver’s license printed between layers of laminated plastic were easy to alter or replicate, she said.

Beginning June 22 in the DMV’s offices that are open five days a week (Omaha, Papillion, Lincoln, Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, Lexington, North Platte and Gering), the new security measures will go into effect.

All other exam offices across the state, including Columbus, will close June 22-23 and reopen on a staggered basis from June 24-July 2 after the security measures are implemented. Columbus will reopen June 24.

The Columbus office, which normally is open Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, moves to Schuyler Thursdays and Fridays.

A couple of security changes will be effective June 24 when an applicant strolls into the Columbus DMV examiner’s office.

An applicant will be required to provide two forms of proof of principal residence, such as a utility bill or a bank statement with the applicant’s legal name on them. The office already checks new applicants’ identification, Social Security number and immigration status.

The residence change will improve the reliability that a license or document lists an applicant’s true name and address, Neth said.

A second change applicants will quickly notice is the photo for a driver’s license or I.D. card will be taken in the DMV examiner’s office, not the county treasurer’s office.

The photo-taking, Neth said, is being moved to the front line of the application process.

A security breach can be created if the person who applied for a license or I.D. card is not the person who shows up at the treasurer’s office to have a photo taken and pay the fee.

An applicant’s photo will be taken early on in the transaction, said Neth, with the treasurer’s office personnel confirming the identity of the applicant via a computer linked to the examiner’s office.

“(The switch} will close a huge security gap that exists today. It essentially eliminates the problem,” Neth said.

When the fees have been paid and the photo I.D. confirmed, the treasurer’s office will issue a 30-day receipt with driving privileges to the applicant, who can expect to receive his or her new driver’s license or I.D. through the mail within seven days. The I.D.s are going to be produced at a centralized plant in Georgia.

Today, any applicant who has completed the driver exam process is provided with an issuance certificate to be presented to the county treasurer within 30 days for the taking of a photo and payment of fees.

All certificates issued on or prior to June 19 will expire at the close of business on that day. If a license or I.D. card hasn’t been issued by that day, the applicant will have to return to the examiner’s office to have a photo taken and obtain a new issuance certificate.

Today, there is nothing to prevent an applicant from leaving the examiner’s office, going out in the hallway and handing the issuance certificate to another person, who then goes to the treasurer’s office to have a photo taken.

Neth said there are many reasons someone would hand over their issuance certificate -- in effect, their identity -- to someone else.

The reason could be as simple as providing an I.D. for an underage drinker or as sinister as helping someone avoid registration as a sex offender. Fraudulent driver’s licenses also are used by illegal immigrants to establish a legal presence in the country and people just trying to escape a bad driving record.

Another new security measure will be going on after the driver examiner’s offices are parked for the night.

When the state’s more than 95 DMV offices are operating under the new security system, all of the new licenses and I.D.s will be cross-checked with DMV databases to red-flag if there are people holding multiple documents in multiple names, Neth said.

A recent DMV fraud report estimated there were 12,000-24,000 people in Nebraska holding multiple documents in multiple names, she said. The DMV’s existing fraud unit investigates any potential criminal wrongdoing.