Question: My Hawaii driver’s license has the gold star and is up for renewal. I got a reminder postcard with a list of documents to bring. Do I really have to bring all that if I already have the gold star and I haven’t moved or anything?
Answer: Technically, no, as federal law requires REAL ID documentation be presented in person every 16 years, or every other renewal on a standard 8-year license. However, it’s wise to bring the documents with you, in case a technical glitch prevents electronic retrieval of your previously submitted documents, city officials said. That doesn’t seem to happen too often, but we’ve heard enough anecdotes that we wouldn’t risk wasting a renewal appointment.
Showing your current gold-star license won’t be enough to process your renewal application, city officials said. The clerk will pull up your previously submitted documents from the database to verify your application, and, if there’s any trouble retrieving them, will ask you for the hard copies (original or certified copies only), they said.
The postcard describes documents needed to obtain a federally compliant Hawaii driver’s license or state ID that proves the applicant’s legal name, date of birth, lawful U.S. presence and Hawaii principal residence; the applicant’s Social Security number also must be verified. Even though most license- or ID-holders have the gold star by now (about 92% of credentials issued on Oahu do), the city isn’t inclined to change the postcard because it helps applicants come prepared. “I would hate for the customer to not be able to renew, just because they thought they did not need to bring their documents,” Kim Hashiro, director of Honolulu’s Department of Customer Services, said in a recent interview.
Note too that a renewal applicant who has moved, changed their name or had another change in status is required to bring in documents to verify the changes.
Kokua Line has received a spike in questions about renewing Hawaii driver’s licenses or state IDs, so we turned to Hashiro and department spokesperson Harold Nedd for reminders and updates:
>> You can renew a Hawaii driver’s license or state ID up to six months advance of its expiration date without losing any time on the duration of the license or state ID.
>> Make an appointment at AlohaQ.org. Appointments are broadly available within a month or less. Saturday appointments are available at some locations. Next-day appointments are released on AlohaQ at 4:30 p.m. daily. Appointments are prioritized over stand-by service.
>> Use the document guide on AlohaQ to confirm that you have what you need; don’t skip this step. “This is very helpful for (people) and can save them the frustration of showing up for their appointment unprepared and not being able to get their driver’s license or state ID,” Hashiro said. Kokua Line will print a list of accepted documents in Tuesday’s column, for those who lack internet access and can’t use the online guide.
>> Renewals of driver’s licenses or state IDs can be handled at Oahu’s five driver licensing centers — Kapalama, Kapolei, Koolau, Wahiawa and Waianae — and at four of Oahu’s nine satellite city halls — Downtown, Hawaii Kai, Pearlridge and Windward City.
>> The four satellites that handle renewals are not full-service driver licensing centers. They process driver’s license or state ID renewals and duplicates, but don’t handle initial issuance (or written tests or road tests).
>> Fill out your application before your appointment. Complete and print the form online at 808ne.ws/DLapp (driver’s license) or 808ne.ws/Siapp (state ID). If you lack a computer or printer at home, pick up the form at your appointment site ahead of time or arrive early the day of your appointment and fill it out then. Remember, you can’t get a gold-star driver’s license and a gold-star state ID — the state will issue you one or the other (you can switch later).
>> Cancel your appointment if you don’t need it after all. There’s a 15% to 20% no-show rate, even though the city sends reminders the week before and the day before an appointment. “If you have an appointment, please keep your appointment. And if you don’t need the appointment, cancel it. Someone else needs it. We need everybody’s help to make our service as convenient and efficient as possible,” Hashiro said.
For more information, go to honolulu.gov/csd and follow the links to “Real ID.”
Mahalo
May life bring only good things for the young man who stopped what he was doing when he saw me struggling with my grocery cart in the wind at the Safeway parking lot in Kapahulu. I would have slammed into the parked cars if he had not sprinted over and grabbed the cart in the nick of time. He doesn’t work at the store and it wasn’t his car that was about to get hit. He just saw that I needed help and gave it. Many thanks. — Slim shopper
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
