February 12, 2025
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Driver’s license rules being enforced

AUGUSTA – Thousands of Mainers using mail drop services or a post office box are among those getting a surprise when they seek to get a driver’s license issued or renewed. State law now requires an actual street address with some proof a person lives at that address.

“It’s been a bigger hassle than we thought it was going to be,” Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said Thursday. “We did have a significant spike in wait times in that first week that we were quickly able to address. The staff was terrific, but they got a lot of abuse from people that were very frustrated.”

The new law took effect five weeks ago and requires anyone getting a driver’s license or ID card for the first time or getting one renewed to have proof they actually live in Maine. A current license or ID card that has a street address is sufficient, but a post office box is not.

The law was prompted by news reports of illegal aliens being driven to Maine from other states to get a driver’s license. It riled several lawmakers, who said they had been flooded with calls and comments from constituents outraged that Maine has a reputation as an easy place for illegal aliens to obtain a driver’s license.

“I was disgusted to hear about the Brazilian community in New Jersey sending people up here for driver’s licenses,” Sen. Christine Savage, R-Union, a member of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee, said at a hearing in February attended by Dunlap. “Mr. Secretary, do you really believe this bill [on residency] will keep that from happening?” Dunlap said that he did.

On Thursday he said he believes that in its first weeks the new law has prevented the “most obvious” attempts to violate the law. The list of addresses that have been used range from seasonal campgrounds and mail drops to hotels and the Scotia Prince cruise ship.

“I think it would be disingenuous of me to say that we have now closed the door on all fraud on residency,” he said. “People are going to take cracks at that, find ways around that. What we have eliminated is perhaps the sloppiest fraud, the most amateurish.”

Dunlap said people will have to “be a lot more creative” to get around the residency requirement. For example, he said, the computer system has been programmed to “highlight” addresses that are clearly fraudulent and have been used in the past, such as the address of a Bureau of Motor Vehicles office.

“Now, getting to the 445 people that have listed the same address on what appears to be a valid street address will take longer,” he said. “But we will get to that. We will take care of that.”

The law allows a person to sign an affidavit swearing to residence at some specific address and allows the Secretary of State’s Office to accept that as proof of residency.

“But it doesn’t say we have to accept an affidavit,” Dunlap said. “It says we may accept an affidavit. This gives the front-line staff the opportunity to ask more questions and satisfy themselves about a person’s residency.”

Deputy Secretary of State Cathie Curtis, who oversees the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, said the most common reason for delays at bureau offices are people not bringing all needed documents with them, whether to register their car or get a license.

“We’re asking everyone to make sure they have everything they need before they leave their home,” she said. “A minute of preparation is the single most effective way to reduce wait times for everyone.”

Dunlap said the online license renewal system is again usable, after being suspended when the new law took effect. Many Mainers will be able to handle a renewal through the “rapid renewal” service, but not all.

He said his office has established a Web page with information on the new residency requirement with examples of documents that will be acceptable to prove residency.

On the Web:

Rapid renewal, www.maine.gov/online/bmv/dir/

Residency facts, www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/licenses/residency

Correction: 05/31/2008

The Web site link for Residency Law Facts pertaining to Rapid Renewal of Maine driver’s licenses was incorrect in a story on Page B1 of Friday’s paper. The correct link is: www.maine.gov/ sos/bmv/licenses/residency
.htm.


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