You can order a Texas birth certificate by mail from the State Vital Records office, Kevin. It’s not as dramatic as “having” to fly to Texas, though.
Getting blood work or a physical done under a federal bureaucracy will make waiting in line at the DMV seem like a vacation. Think Wal-Mart shoppers in rows of metal folding chairs with their EBT cards and their hollering welfare babies who are queued up ahead of you. They don't have to pay...but you will. But first, you need to take a number and get to the back of the line.
I’m not sure what current SS cards look like, but mine says “not to be used for identification.”
Gotta’ be honest, I’ve been breezing thru the DMV’s here in NY for 20 years now. Go to info and get the paperwork squared away then take a number and wait for 10 or 15 min and out.
Bureaucracies are bad, but the writer makes a poor choice for complaint, when it comes to verifying legal status and ID. That’s something we need more of, not less.
Also, I’ve got driver’s licenses in both CT and NY, and the process isn’t really that onerous in either state.
The dude sounds a bit like something of a general screw-up.
Just move to New Hampshire - DMV like it oughta be.
I can’t wait to rad the article when he actually goes to the DMV.
in Maryland, it took me four trips, 9 hours and 150 miles of driving to get a simples set of license plates. When I lived in Michigan, the same transaction was literally 10 minutes.
I complained so much, I finally got a call from the director of “Customer Service.” I let her have it and told her agency is broken.
One of Kevin’s best….
I realize that ripping the DMV in the most humorous manner possible is a universally satisfying experience, but I can’t say I’ve had anything resembling the author’s alleged nightmare. I lived in NYS for almost 5 decades. They made great strides in efficiency, convenience, and friendliness. (In comedy, such jokes are “evergreen,” like rubber chickens.) We moved to MA a couple of years ago, and it was a more jarring, less personal experience going to the DMV.
It’s probably not fair to compare the two offices: Worcester County, MA has a much larger population than does Tompkins County, NY. But in both cases it seems like your attitude approaching the experience makes a great deal of difference. If you go anywhere expecting a confrontation you will likely find one. I’ve never had a problem in either place. I try to be polite and friendly, and let them know I appreciate their help and expertise in shepherding me through what can be a bewildering set of regulations. The result is that I rarely leave with a bad taste in my mouth or a joke to tell about the DMV. No doubt, some of their rules are incomprehensible, but odds are the person you deal with at the counter didn’t write the rule. You can call it naive, but I find if you treat people decently they reciprocate.
Never go on Monday morning or even worse, Tuesday after a three day weekend. Never go late in the afternoon when all the teenagers are there. Be there when they open and bring a book or kindle.
I have a COLB. I had to order one a few years ago.
I do not have a marriage certificate. Will have to get one.
The SS card is another matter. I am 60. I haven't seen it in 35 years. I do remember it said something about not to be used for ID. The pisser is I never had my name changed after I got married.
I do have documents with my SSN on it which has always been accepted as proof whenever it was needed....until now.
I guess I will need to get the ball rolling when I am 62. Maybe I can get all the paper work together to prove I am who I have said I am for the last 60 years. :(
Of course the Norwalk DMV is Mexican Brain Root Canal. Norwalk has devolved into a bit of a Third World Hell-Hole.
Try another office.