Dear ingard-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question. Recently a class action lawsuit has been considered against
the State of Arizona over this very issue. Since then some procedural
changes appear to have been made but how significant they are remains
to be seen. If you are interested in knowing more about the potential
lawsuit itself you can visit this site:
BIG CLASS ACTION
http://www.bigclassaction.com/class_action/arizona.html
Having mentioned that lawsuit and those recent changes, Arizona now
says that to complete the initial application for an Arizona driver?s
license you need to provide at least two of these documents, only one
of which must have a valid photo:
ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
DRIVER?S LICENSE IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
http://www.dot.state.az.us/mvd/formsandpub/viewPDF.asp?lngProductKey=1410&lngFormInfoKey=1410
However, just confirm the integrity of this document I telephoned the
Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles in Tucson personally in your
behalf [ (520) 629-9808 ] and asked them these questions specifically:
Question: ?Do I have to have a Social Security Number or a Social
Security Card in order to obtain an Arizona driver?s license??
Answer: ?Yes, you have to have a Social Security Number but you are
not required to physically present the card if you have other valid
forms of identification.?
Question: ?Am I required to disclose my Social Security Number to the
State of Arizona in order to obtain an Arizona driver?s license even
if I prefer not to??
Answer: ?If you want to get a license? Yes.?
So, there you have it. You MUST have a Social Security Number and you
MUST disclose it to the State of Arizona or you cannot obtain a
driver?s license in that state. There is no way around this.
Now, assuming you merely want to keep your Social Security Number
private and prefer not to have it on your license there ?are? options.
In other words, if you already have an Arizona driver?s license that
has your Social Security Number on it, or you are applying for a new
one and you do not want your Social Security Number to appear on it,
there are some things you can do. If you have a license or
identification card already you can request to have your Social
Security number removed from it and have it replaced by a duplicate
with a system-generated number. To do this you can call toll free
877-301-8093, or visit any Arizona Motor Vehicle Division. The fee for
a duplicate license is $4.00.
ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
http://www.dot.state.az.us/mvd/faqs/scripts/faqs.asp?section=dl#6
?The Federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act specifies that the
personal information contained in your Driver License or
Identification Card record may not be released to anyone without your
consent, except when it is a matter of public health or safety, or
when the individual or entity requesting such information is otherwise
authorized to obtain it under federal law. However, during the
duplicate process, you may consent to the release of your Driver
License and Identification Card record information to any individual
or entity that makes a proper request.?
SERVICE ARIZONA
http://www.servicearizona.com/dupinfo.html#changedocnum
If you are applying for a new license or identification card and you
do not want your information released, at the time of your duplicate
or new license issuance DO NOT agree to this option. Specifically
request that your new card be assigned a computer-generated number and
not your Social Security Number. This will prevent any personal
information about you from being released to unauthorized parties
without your knowledge.
If you have additional questions, please contact the Motor Vehicle
Division at one of the numbers listed below.
Phoenix (602) 255-0072
Tucson (520) 629-9808
Or visit the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division nearest you using this
handy locator to find out where the most convenient office is:
SERVICE ARIZONA OFFICE LOCATOR
http://az.gov/webapp/offices/
I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher
INFORMATION SOURCES
Defined above
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
Arizona
Social security number
Driver?s license
Requirements
Duplicate
Removal |
Request for Answer Clarification by
ingard-ga
on
08 Apr 2004 06:45 PDT
Howdy Tutuzdad,
I visited ADOT several times, took my number, and got many of the
same answers you did. One difference: the default AZ licence number
now is NOT the SSN.
But I couldn't stop there. Citizen's have few enforcible rights
to privacy and identity fraud now has been automated by the net. I
took a couse on identity fraud at PVCC and it all worked down to
protecting SSNs and shredding ... a sorry protection against losing
six months of your life. At my age, "I haven't got time for the
waiting game". Time to start thinking out of the box.
Here is an out-of-the-box solution that works and seems legal.
Its problem is that it is annoying because it only works for six
months.
Citizen [CITI] fills out application, putting his Federal Tax
Identification Number [FTID] in the SSN block, and SIGNS APPLICATION.
ADOT, "That's not a SSN. Don't you have one?"
CITI, "No. This is my FTID."
ADOT, "Are you a Canadian citizen?"
CITI, "Yes."
ADOT, "That works."
Since CITI never signed a false application, the downside seems
minimal. In case of an accidental shootout, CITI's case for identity
theft security seems much stronger then the case for those who avoided
Vietnam service by running to Canada and claiming citizenship there,
thus jeopardizing some other associate. A more topical example is
Florida where illegals with no SSN will soon be given drivers'
licenses. CA and AZ mahy soon go down that trail.
I was hoping you could think of other creative solutions. A
time-consuming approach that I cannot pursue is suggested by the
following rallying-cry:
FELLOW AMERICANS UNITE
YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT YOUR IDENTITY
Thanks,
ingard-ga
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Clarification of Answer by
tutuzdad-ga
on
08 Apr 2004 08:16 PDT
Dear ingard-ga:
I appreciate your concern about the privacy issues involved here.
However, the answer to your question "How can I can I obtain a
driver's licence without disclosing my social security number to the
Arizona Department of Transportation?" can only be answered by
referring to the circumstances and laws that currently exist. That
answer, unfortunatley, is that you cannot. As for debate about
creative means of carrying this out in spite of the laws which clearly
require it, the only options here are to:
1. Lobby your lelgislators and to gain support for a measure to
provide for the privacy of individuals with regard to their social
security numbers
2. Disclose you number to the state (as if they couldn't get it by
other means if they wanted to anyway) but opt for a computer generated
number on your license
3. Or to refrain from applying for a license altogether.
The facts are clear, as I have researched and pointed out. Debating
"creative solutions" other than changing the laws through the legal
system for the supposed good of all citizens is not plausible. As it
currently stands, the law in Arizona requires the release of one's
SSAN in order to obtain a driver's license and until the law is
changed, that is the situation that exists. Clearly, the most logical
solution is to simply change the law so that this requirement is not
the case.
Like you, privacy issues are a concern to me, but focusing on the
driver's license as a means of protecting your identity is only the
tip of the iceberg. Having spent more than 20 years in professional
law enforcement myself, I can tell you that in most cases, within a
matter of minutes, I could obtain a person's social security number
using only their name and date of birth, no matter what state they
hail from and whether they have a driver's license or not. There is
nothing odd about Arizona specifically in this regard and no amount of
debate here is likely to change it.
Regards;
tutuzdad-ga
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