BANGOR – Though personnel at Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices around the state were prepared for problems Monday, virtually none arose, a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office said.

Monday marked the first day that people seeking a new or renewed state driver’s license or identification card had to prove they were living in the country legally.

“I would say today, day one, has been relatively smooth and we’re thankful it has been,” Don Cookson, spokesman for Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, said late Monday afternoon, as BMV offices around the state were closing for the day.

According to Cookson, staffers at the 13 BMV locations around Maine received additional training to assist those encountering the new rule.

Despite the media blitz that preceded the new requirement, some Mainers were caught unaware when they showed up at their local BMV site, Cookson said.

Numbers were not yet available Monday, but Cookson said that administrators in charge of the state’s 13 BMV office sites reported few issues.

Waiting periods at most locations were at or below normal, Cookson said. The exception was Portland, where the typically 45-minute wait was lengthened to about an hour.

The new proof of legal presence rule is the second such requirement imposed this year. In April, the state began requiring proof of residency, namely through a range of documents listing a current Maine address.

A visit midafternoon Monday to the Bangor BMV office at the Airport Mall on Union Street, normally a busy time, found only about half a dozen customers on hand. Most of those customers were called to service windows before they even had time to settle in.

That was not the case on Friday, when lines, and waiting periods, were longer than normal, staff there noted.

Cookson and other state officials speculated Monday that the rush at BMV offices on the days leading up to the new rules taking effect was likely prompted by Mainers hoping to avoid the changes.

A similar spike in customers preceded the state’s proof of residency requirement, which took effect in April, and a recent increase in fees, Cookson said.

Driver’s license requirements

To meet the state’s proof of residency requirements for a driver’s license or state identification card, one must produce one of the following documents:

? State driver’s license or identification card with a physical address listed.

? Property tax bill or deed or mortgage or lien agreement.

? Maine vehicle registration, title or lease agreement.

? Maine fishing or hunting license or concealed weapons permit.

? Marriage certificate.

? Department of Health and Human Services compliance document.

? Utility bills (cable, television, telephone, etc.).

? Paycheck stub or tax return (W-2).

? Home services contract (lawn care, painting, etc.).

They also must provide acceptable proof of legal presence:

? For U.S. citizens: birth certificate (must be a certified copy); U.S. passport or passport card; certificate of citizenship or naturalization; U.S. citizen identification card; identification card for resident citizen of the U.S.

? For noncitizens: permanent resident card; resident alien card; arrival-departure form I-94 (stamped); employment authorization card.

For a complete list of acceptable documents, ask a BMV service representative or visit the bureau’s Web site at www.maine.gov/sos/bmv