I discovered that I lost my Florida driver’s license yesterday so I had the pleasure of spending four hours at the Minnesota DMV today.
The DMV is not actually a DMV, but a generic county service center. That means that the lines are especially long because people are there for a variety of reasons.
I took the driving test a few years ago when I was still a law student. I passed the test, but couldn’t get a driver’s license because my passport did not have the requisite stamp in it. I came back today armed with my permanent resident card, passed the test and got… well, a piece of paper.
Apparently they don’t print licenses at the service center. The DMV lady said that I have to wait up to two months to get my license in the mail. She also clipped the corner of my Florida ID. This means that every time I go to the bar I have to pull out this ridiculous piece of folded paper from my wallet. It’s horribly inconvenient.
I don’t really understand why bars don’t accept clipped licenses. Some servers seem to think that it is illegal to serve someone with a clipped ID because some repeat DUI offenders get clipped licenses. My understanding is that it is not actually illegal for those individuals to consume alcohol, but the state can sue to invalidate their license if that does happen. Regardless, I hope my license comes before this paper license disintegrates.
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