Getting Drivers License delivered to a Mail forwarding service

[Hatchet]

Does anyone have any ideas on how to get a renewed drivers license sent to a PO box #.

We have been fulltiming for two years now. When we sold our house we stayed at my sister in laws and have used her address as our domicile in Southern IL. For the first year all our mail was delivered to her house and she would forward it to wherever our location would be. It became a burden on her so we now use a forwarding mail service out of Chicago.

This is where the catch 22 comes in. My wife had to renew her drivers license... but the Sec of State will not send it too the mail service. They can't send it to the address on the lisc because the post office forwards all our mail to Chicago. The lisc bureau won't send it to Chicago because it's a PO box and is not the address on the License.

Any ideas?

[Barbaraok]

Now you know why most of us end up in TX, SD, or FL, where the states recognize a mail forwarding address as a legal one for DL, etc.

 

Barb

[skp51443]

Ask the sister in law really nicely if she will forward (Edit: Not forward - remail in a new envelope) the drivers license? Maybe offer her an upgraded Christmas present?

 

Edit: Depending on the rules some forwarded mail like licenses or ballots may be returned by the post office if forwarded and not remailed in a new envelope.

[Hatchet]

Stanley, I thought about that but I'm not sure how to get it there. Afraid the PO will send it back. I need to figure out a way that they can understand and help with the situation. There solution is to move to Chicago.

[LFDR3116]

Before establishing our residency in SD and while using a mail service with just a p o box and not sure MI would even send a drivers license out of state, we changed our address on our drivers licenses to our daughters address while we were visiting. Our renewal notices and then licenses were mailed to her. She then mailed them to us. We were still legally residents of the state at the time. Can't you do an address change online on your license to that of a relative or friend so that it would be mailed to them?

[Kirk W]

, I thought about that but I'm not sure how to get it there. Afraid the PO will send it back. I need to figure out a way that they can understand and help with the situation. There solution is to move to Chicago.

The problem you have run into is a pretty common one in the majority of states as most require that you have a physical address in the state to hold a driver's license and the mailing of documents is their way of verifying that you actually live there. Unless you can get them to change the laws, there probably isn't a solution since that is the reason the law is written in that way. I don't know of any state that doesn't require a driver's license to be mailed to the address on it and that address must be a physical residence and not a business address or PO box in most of them. I'd bet that you will run into this again when it is time to renew your license plates. They likely will not mail your renewal to a mail forwarding service.

 

My only suggestion is to either put the sister's address back on your license and registration, or change your domicile to another state which does allow use of mail service as a legal address. Your problem arises because IN is one of the states that does not recognize a person's right/need to claim residency while not physically living in that state, an exception being members of the armed forces.

[Newt]

Does anyone have any ideas on how to get a renewed drivers license sent to a PO box #.

We have been fulltiming for two years now. When we sold our house we stayed at my sister in laws and have used her address as our domicile in Southern IL. For the first year all our mail was delivered to her house and she would forward it to wherever our location would be. It became a burden on her so we now use a forwarding mail service out of Chicago.

This is where the catch 22 comes in. My wife had to renew her drivers license... but the Sec of State will not send it too the mail service. They can't send it to the address on the lisc because the post office forwards all our mail to Chicago. The lisc bureau won't send it to Chicago because it's a PO box and is not the address on the License.

Any ideas?

 

 

What's the problem with that? Isn't the Chicago address your mail forwarding service? Why would they not forward the license with everything else?

 

Newt

[Chalkie]

Part of the issue here is the Read ID Act. That act requires verification of a "Principal residence address". Depending on how narrowly a state that is in compliance with the Act, one can see how a PO Box could not qualify as a "residence" address. It seems Illinois takes that narrow view. Since Texas is not yet in compliance it doesn't count, and it would seem that South Dakota and Florida have taken a more liberal approach. For what it is worth, here in Colorado, you also have to provide a physical residence address for a license.

[soos]

Theres a big difference between havng your sister in law forward ALL your mail and asking her to just forward the few items that pertain to licenses and registrations.

When Michigan refused to allow us to use a UPS box as our address, we continued to use it for everything except our licenses etc. Pur ex neighbor was kind enough to let us use her address until we made the move to TX.

[Hatchet]

Thanks for all the replys, we went to the post office and changed our address back to my legal residence today. Once the license is delivered we will change the address back to the mail service. This seems like a backwards way of doing things but might work till it's my turn to renew. As far as MH and Towed I paid the money and walked out with sticker in hand.

It sure does seem strange that the State wants your domicile but then almost forces you to leave.

[Hatchet]

What's the problem with that? Isn't the Chicago address your mail forwarding service? Why would they not forward the license with everything else?

 

Newt

They won't forward to the mail service because it's different than the address printed on the license.

[Hatchet]

Theres a big difference between havng your sister in law forward ALL your mail and asking her to just forward the few items that pertain to licenses and registrations.

When Michigan refused to allow us to use a UPS box as our address, we continued to use it for everything except our licenses etc. Pur ex neighbor was kind enough to let us use her address until we made the move to TX.

Basically it's all or none. That's why we went with the mail service.

[Hatchet]

The problem you have run into is a pretty common one in the majority of states as most require that you have a physical address in the state to hold a driver's license and the mailing of documents is their way of verifying that you actually live there. Unless you can get them to change the laws, there probably isn't a solution since that is the reason the law is written in that way. I don't know of any state that doesn't require a driver's license to be mailed to the address on it and that address must be a physical residence and not a business address or PO box in most of them. I'd bet that you will run into this again when it is time to renew your license plates. They likely will not mail your renewal to a mail forwarding service.

 

My only suggestion is to either put the sister's address back on your license and registration, or change your domicile to another state which does allow use of mail service as a legal address. Your problem arises because IN is one of the states that does not recognize a person's right/need to claim residency while not physically living in that state, an exception being members of the armed forces.

yes that is about the only options.

[Andrea5]

OK, how 'bout this? Can you iopen a short-term PO Box somewhere in IL, then go online and use that mailing address for your IL driver's license, still keeping your sister's physical address on the books? We're using a PO Box in North Carolina as our mailing address for some things, with a "physical" NC address on the DMV records, and they've been fine with sending the licenses and registrations to the PO Box. In other words, could you take the mail forwarding service out of the equation just for this transaction? (We still have the SKP mail service for most of our transactions, but not for anything Motor Vehicle/Insurance-related).

 

Good luck! (Things have gotten a whole lot more complicated since the Patriot Act stuff. Wait 'til the banks start telling you they're going to close out your account unless you give them a "real" address! Yep, we ran into THAT nonsense this year).

[Kirk W]

(Things have gotten a whole lot more complicated since the Patriot Act stuff. Wait 'til the banks start telling you they're going to close out your account unless you give them a "real" address! Yep, we ran into THAT nonsense this year).

This has nothing to do with the Patriot Act. Most states have been that way pretty much forever. If it were the Patriot Act there would be no states that allow the use of a mail service for licenses. Most do not accept a PO box either.

[Newt]

They won't forward to the mail service because it's different than the address printed on the license.

 

That is the point of forwarded mail. To forward it to somewhere else.

 

 

Newt

[Barbaraok]

Is there some reason to stay residents of Iilinois?

[Timon]

On my friends California license and vehicle registration his PO Box is his mailing address where all correspondence is sent but his home is his residence address. This is because CA allows both a residence and mailing address which can be different.

[Chalkie]

On my friends California license and vehicle registration his PO Box is his mailing address where all correspondence is sent but his home is his residence address. This is because CA allows both a residence and mailing address which can be different.

 

And California is not in compliance with the Real ID Act. There was an article I read recently that DHS may cut off access to flights in the near future without ID other than a CA license.

[Hatchet]

Is there some reason to stay residents of Iilinois?

[saydiver]

TX DPS will forward your DL to a residential address, but not a commercial address. I went though this last year concerning what type of address they would accept, after I found out they would not forward my renewed DL to our MI resort address, because I didn't include the lot number, therefore they considered it a commericial address. After talking with them, I had them forward it to my RV resort address in Florida, which included the lot number.

 

Sue

[Barbaraok]

I take it you aren't using Escapees mail service?

[saydiver]

Yes, we use Escapees mail service and yes I could have used our mail service. At the time I thought it would be faster to use a forwarding address and it would have been, if I had put the RV lot number on the address.

 

Sue

 

PS The point of my post is TX DPS will forward your DL to a different address, as long as it's a residential address.