I’m reposting this in honor of the May 7th 2025 final deadline for Real ID for domestic flights.

So Thursday was my appointment with Triple A for my license renewal in Massachusetts.
My license expires on Sunday and I’ve been waiting for two weeks for the appointment.

This appointment thing is something that the RMV started during the Shamdemic and now (Surprise!) it’s been made permanent.  No more picking a date during the month of your birthday and heading over to the RMV office and getting in line with everyone else.  Often you’d arrive and check out the lines and think, ” Think I’ll try again on Monday”.

A little surprised to notice while I waited that of the four people in front of me, three apparently were denied renewal. Now in Massachusetts as in the rest of the country, Real ID is being rolled in by Federal Decree. So after over sixty years a licensed driver it’s not a simple renewal any more. But WTF?

I overheard enough of one conversation to understand the woman’s problem was that her legal documentation didn’t match her married name, i.e. her birth certificate.  This suggests that women should bring their marriage license with them to explain the name discrepancy.   No, the form that the RMV sends you on the month before your birthday will not warn you about this.

When my turn came I handed over all my documents, including what I thought was the Gold Standard; my US Passport.
So after a moment the lady asked me if I had my birth certificate with me.
“No, but the passport is supposed to be an acceptable proof of natural born citizenship?”, I answered.
“Well, the passport office issued defective passports during the time that you got yours and it can’t be ‘read’ by our machine. So you can’t get a renewal today. But I can get you an extension on your old licenses expiration and give you a new appointment at the end of the month and you bring a new passport or your valid birth certificate with you”.

Joy. Another two hours travel and waiting, and twelve bucks in gas.

What bothers me about the Passport thing is that the physical passport is pristine, unmarred and has a document number and watermarks and has my birthdate printed on it clearly.  But that’s not acceptable?  The hidden electronics inside trump the visible and readable attestments upon it’s pages.   But they would accept my (now) 73 year old (Birth Certificate) faded, folded and yellowing piece of paper that has printed on it…  the same information.   I know, stop making sense.

At least it was the AAA, the state RMV offices are staffed with the most degenerate and despicable creatures on the face of the Earth.