In bygone days, when oil companies operated service stations instead of just self-service gasoline pumps, a TV commercial for a now-defunct petroleum company that had a star for its logo averred you could "trust your car to the man who wears the star."

Now a star -- this time on your driver's license -- tells government employees you are trustworthy.

The federal government is requiring that, by Oct. 1, 2020, you must have a "Real ID" to enter any federal building or board a commercial airplane.

So if you don't want to haul around a packet containing your passport and/or birth certificate, your Social Security card and proof of residence, you can go through the process to obtain an enhanced-identification driver's license.

To get one, Arkansas requires residents provide documentary proof of legal presence and identities (via one primary document -- passport or birth certificate); proof of residency (via one secondary document, such as an out-of-state driver's license or a photo work ID, utility bill or phone bill); and proof of Social Security number (two documents, such as a paycheck stub or a W-2 form).

If you can assemble the proper paperwork, and if you don't mind having to maybe drive as much as an hour to reach one of the only 25 Arkansas revenue offices that issues them, and if you don't mind standing for the requisite amount of time in line -- it's a piece of cake.

It may not be quite that easy. There has been considerable confusion about the documentation required, and even if you know what you're supposed to bring, that doesn't mean you have it.

Suppose, for example, you can't find your Social Security card, or you moved here from another state and don't happen to have a copy of your birth certificate.

Moreover, your name must be exactly the same on all the pieces of documentation the state requires. If, again for example, your tax return bears your full middle name but your bank statement has just a middle initial. Or, you've been divorced and/or remarried and your name has changed. Mismatches may cause motor vehicle department employees to shake their heads and turn you away.

STAR BILLING

Your fancy new "Arkansas Voluntary Enhanced Security Driver's License" looks pretty much like the old one -- including that bad photo in which at best you look really grumpy and at worst you look like you've been in a fatal wreck.

But there's one small exception: It'll have a white, five-pointed star enclosed in a yellow circle near the upper right corner. That tells the guards at the doors at federal courthouses and uniformed Transportation Security Administration agents at the airport that you're righteous, security-wise.

Congress passed the Real ID Act of 2005 along with the USAPATRIOT Act in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. It's supposed to toughen up the rules involved in getting federally sanctioned identification and safeguard the flying public from people with less-than-real IDs who might fly a plane into a skyscraper.

Arkansas has been compliant since October 2016, says Scott Hardin, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration's communications director. In a year and a half, the state has issued approximately 85,000 "voluntary enhanced security licenses."

And, by 2020, "you'll have to have it to board an aircraft or enter a federal facility," he says.

The doesn't, by the way, include post offices: "If you didn't need an ID to enter before, you're not going to need it now," he explains.

Even after 2020, "it will still be voluntary," Hardin adds. "You can still obtain a normal license, but if you fly or enter a federal courthouse, you're going to have to start complementing it with something else" -- such as a passport.

And if you don't drive, it doesn't have to be a driver's license. Any state-issued ID card would be eligible.

The cost is $40 for an eight-year license. If you're just renewing an existing license, it's supposed to be $10.

State officials are suggesting you apply for it when the time comes to renew your license. "If they are interested, if they do have a need, we're recommending that they go ahead and obtain one, because we know there's going to be this rush as we approach October 2020. There's already a high level of interest; we can only assume that's going to grow."

But do due diligence before hand.

Hardin says, "We encourage everybody go to the website" -- dfa.arkansas.gov -- "and look at that list to make sure they do have the paperwork" (see accompanying story). "We're running into cases where people are guessing and then showing up, and the chance of success there is slim to none."

You won't necessarily be able to get it in the same office you usually visit, however. The website also lists the 25 state revenue-cum-motor vehicle department offices where you can get the new license.

Because of federal regulations and security concerns, DF&A had to install additional cameras, which must be monitored by trained security officers, and safes to secure information and inventory. "Covered employees" who have passed state and federal background checks and are trained on fraudulent document detection safeguard all personally identifiable information.

GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS

Armed with a folder full of documents, the reporter hiked up his belt and entered the Central Revenue Office on Little Rock's West Seventh Street, a couple of blocks from the state Capitol. It was late on a weekday morning and, for a mercy, the line for driver's licenses was only a few people long.

Prepping for this visit took a bit of doing, however. His passport had expired a year ago and he couldn't remember where the dickens he'd hidden his Social Security card, which in any case had been issued in the late Bronze Age and signed in a childish scrawl.

So he needed to contact the proper authorities in the state of his birth (not Arkansas) to obtain a copy of his birth certificate. (That's doable online, but depending on the state in question, it can take quite a bit of time -- as much as three months to process and ship -- and a few bucks to accomplish. And be careful how you do it -- some third parties charge exorbitant extra fees.)

Once the birth certificate arrived, it went into the folder with a copy of last year's W-2 form for the Social Security number; the current automobile registration slip; a copy of an automobile/homeowners insurance policy; the most recent Pulaski County property tax bill; and a couple of utility bills.

The agent accepted, collated and scanned the birth certificate, the insurance card, the W-2 form and the property tax bill and passed on the rest. Then she took the reporter's photo -- just as bad as ever. Nothing enhanced about that.

COMPLICATIONS CAN ARISE

The first items on the list of required paperwork that prove your legal presence -- birth certificate, passport and driver's license -- are fairly straightforward. So is the requirement for proof of Social Security number.

But when it comes to the two proofs of residency, Hardin says, "here's where it can get complicated. If someone brings their bills, electric bill or whatever bill you want to bring -- if it's in their spouse's name, they're out of luck."

There is a workaround, he says: Have the person whose name is on the utility bill sign an affidavit. "You have an option of bringing your spouse with you and the spouse signs a waiver saying you do, in fact, live in this house."

Meanwhile, "If someone is married and the name on the license doesn't match that on the passport -- as a general rule, the names on everything need to match, and if they don't match, being a divorce or a marriage, the supporting paperwork, the divorce decree or the marriage license, would need to be presented along with it."

So, have a spouse, bring the spouse? "That's actually a good approach," Hardin says.

There's no special "voluntary enhanced security license" line at the revenue office. "When you go to renew your license, the agent will ask do you want to obtain just the normal ID or the enhanced," Hardin says.

And he suggests that before you make the trip, "give us a call and confirm that [you] do have that required paperwork. We're certainly happy to work with folks. We want that visit to be successful -- to eliminate the extra visit. We totally understand that being at the DMV is not at the top of anybody's list."

Questions? Call (501) 682-7059 or email driver.services@dfa.arkansas.gov.

Photo by Nikki Dawes

The “Voluntary Enhanced Security Driver’s License” has a small white star encircled in yellow.

A Regular Driver's License

Style on 04/10/2018