Problems with driver's license

~ Women with name changes and license bureaus are having problems with Department of Revenue guidelines.

New state laws for obtaining or renewing a driver's license have been confusing for some residents. They haven't been easy for license bureaus to follow either.

Several women have found that license bureaus won't accept name changes unless they have a court order as proof. Even state and federal identification, such as Social Security cards, old driver's licenses and voter registration cards haven't been sufficient.

Van Buren resident Sheila Wood Foard found this to be true earlier this month when she tried to renew her driver's license. She was told she could no longer use her current name on her new driver's license. After Foard's first marriage of 27 years ended, she continued using her first husband's last name, Wood, as her middle name.

For the past 15 years, Foard has used this middle name, as her social security card, checks, voter registration card and previous driver's license indicate.

The license bureau told Foard she would have to go back to using her birth middle name, Fern, on her new driver's license unless she were to obtain a court-ordered name change.

"I just couldn't understand why I would need to pay somebody to let me keep this name," she said. "We're looking at a long period of time that I've been using this as my middle name."

Calling the Missouri Department of Revenue to question this policy, Foard got the same reply she did from the Van Buren license bureau.

"I was told, 'A lot of women are having to give up their names,'" she said. "I don't think women know this is going to happen."

Jackson license bureau manager Kandi Sailer said her license bureau follows this guideline. "Unless we see a court order that the state has issued, we won't change the name," Sailer said.

However, Maura Browning, a spokesperson for the state Department of Revenue, said the problems sometimes are due to the license bureaus' misunderstanding of the state guidelines.

"This kind of stuff can get so confusing," Browning said. "This is a situation we've been trying to tweak out since the new law went into effect."

The new law is called Show Me Proof, which requires anyone obtaining or renewing a driver's license, a picture identification or an instruction permit to present proof of "lawful presence," proof of identity and proof of residence. Lawful presence is the legal claim to be in the U.S.

The law was enacted last year in an effort to improve homeland security and thwart identity theft. In addition, since last December a social security number may no longer be used as a license number on a Missouri driver license. The restriction on the use of social security numbers is a result of a federal law. A system-generated license number will be assigned to all new applicants and renewal or duplicate applicants who currently use their social security number as a license number.

Since Foard presented a social security card with her name on it, Browning said, the Van Buren license bureau should have issued her a driver's license with the same name.

But area license bureaus say the Department of Revenue needs to clarify its guidelines, especially in a situation like Foard's.

"They need to get a really good clarification and stick with it," said Tonya Sadler, manager of the Chaffee license bureau. Sadler several customers in Foard's situation have come into the bureau.

The Chaffee license bureau will only change a name on a license if it's defined differently on a marriage license, Sadler said.

Sarabeth Moore, manager of the Cape Girardeau license bureau, said she will call the Department of Revenue if her office runs into a problem.

"We don't want to second-guess anymore," she said. "From what they have told us, we're supposed to go by a birth certificate unless someone has a court order stating a name change. Show Me Proof has not really been our friend."

Moore said she hopes customers will bear with the license bureau. "We're just trying to get things done the way the Department of Revenue wants us to," she said.

jfreeze@semissourian.com