I GOT TO the Fort Bragg DMV office early on a day in late June. Since my driver’s license was up for renewal, I had decided to take the plunge and get a license that complies with the new “Real ID” requirement, the federally mandated form of identification that airline passengers will need, absent a passport, to board a plane.
The easiest way to get a Real ID, theoretically anyway, is to start with the California DMV website.
My two grown sons have told me that, when it comes to technology, I am “reasonably competent for someone my age.” That is as good as I’m going to get from them, so I’ve accepted this rather tepid evaluation.
I was prepared. I followed the website instructions. I brought my passport and a utility bill and my mortgage statement. I printed the Xfinity bill for good measure. I had filled out the Real ID application online and received back a “confirmation code” that I was assured would “serve as an appointment” at a DMV field office, even though it didn’t give me an actual date or time for that appointment.
So, one fine morning, I headed off to Fort Bragg, a small town on the Northern California coast and the location of the DMV office nearest to my home in Mendocino.
There were three people working at three different DMV windows that day, with no customers at any of the windows, and just one customer sitting in the waiting area.
“Do you have an appointment?” the clerk at the first window asked.
“I have a confirmation code,” I said, like I knew what that meant.
“Go sit over there,” she said, pointing to the waiting area.
I took a seat and waited for something to happen. Finally, a clerk at a different window called me over.
“I’m here to get a Real ID,” I said, still optimistic.
“Lemme see your paperwork.”
I presented the documents, all showing that I was really and truly a resident of Mendocino. I gave her my best “we’re in this together” smile.
The clerk shook her head. “You need one document that shows both your P.O. box and your physical residence,” she said.
“Well,” I said, “there is no such document. There is no residential mail service in Mendocino. I get my utility bills at the P.O. box. My physical address is on the mortgage statement.”
She had clearly heard this before.
“You have to go on the PG&E website and change your profile to show both your residence and your physical address.”
The thought of braving the PG&E website made me feel slightly faint. I tried to rally. When in doubt, beg.
“Can I step over there and make the PG&E profile change online and then show you the changes on my phone?” I asked.
“No, I need a hard copy of the document from PG&E.”
And no, of course I could not print it there.
That magic moment
In defense of the DMV, buried on its website is the admonition that people who use a P.O. box must have one magic document showing both the box number and the physical residence address. I just missed it. (So much for my “reasonable competence.”)
The Real ID requirement was originally supposed to go into effect in 2008. It has been steadily pushed back. The TSA has already proposed pushing back enforcement to May 2027, although TSA agents will soon begin issuing stern written warnings at airports about the need to get going on that Real ID application.
At the Fort Bragg office that morning, I decided I could live without a Real ID awhile longer.
“OK, I’ll just renew my driver’s license,” I said, which was due to expire very soon.
“You have to go online for that,” the clerk said. “We don’t process license renewals here.”
In fact, many services that used to be offered at a DMV office, like renewing a driver’s license or vehicle registration, or getting a replacement license, can now only be done online. The DMV is undergoing what it calls a “digital transformation.” DMV office employees are supposedly prioritizing customer service rather than spending time “processing documents.”
License renewals can also be done at a DMV kiosk, described as “a self-service kiosk that uses touchscreen technology to guide you through various DMV transactions.” The kiosk closest to my home in Mendocino is over two hours away in Santa Rosa.
Many services that used to be offered at a DMV office can now only be done online. The DMV is undergoing what it calls a ‘digital transformation,’ supposedly prioritizing customer service rather than spending time ‘processing documents.’
Renewal by mail is still an option, although that can take up to a month.
I suspect that the DMV just got tired of having its employees mocked in movies like “Zootopia.” In my case the clerk was perfectly competent, apologetic even, but clearly powerless to stop the DMV’s march of technological progress.
That morning, I left the DMV office defeated, wondering how my Baby Boomer generation will handle yet another move of essential services online.
Recent data shows a jump in technology adoption by adults aged 65 and over, with 75% of this group reporting that they use the internet.
However, an AARP study reported that “one in three older adults do not feel that they have the digital literacy skills necessary to take advantage of being online.”
Meanwhile, the DMV has cut its hours at 20 offices statewide. Since July 1, a week after my unsuccessful visit, the Fort Bragg office has been open only three days a week.
Soon after the new hours kicked in, customers reported three- and four-hour wait times, probably many of them standing in a physical line only to be told that they had to go online. Of course, if they had gone online in the first place, they could have found the average and actual wait times for every DMV office statewide and tried to time their visits.
You’re not a kid anymore
On a more positive note, the DMV has recently rescinded the requirement that people who renew their driver’s licenses after the age of 70 must re-take the written test that they took when they were 16.
A friend of mine was so unnerved by this prospect that I had to quiz him on questions like who has the right of way when two cars meet on a one-way mountain road, and whether you must turn your headlights on when using the windshield wipers.
Now, drivers over 70 don’t have to take the written test, but they do have to take a vision test and get a new photo at a DMV office. The only way to make an appointment to do those things is … go online or call a number where an automated voice highly recommends visiting the DMV website. Older drivers unable to penetrate this system can just take their chances and show up at a DMV office with reduced hours and longer wait times.
I eventually received my new driver’s license in the mail. It’s good for five years, when I’ll be 73, and returning to the DMV office in Fort Bragg.
You can access the DMV website at https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/. To get past the automated system and speak to a DMV representative, call 800-777-0133 during normal business hours.
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