Oregon's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking DMV Proof of Residency

March 23, 2009

Oregon Department of Transportation

Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division

Administrative Rules Chapter Number 735

AMEND 735-016-0030 and 735-016-0070

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

Proof of Residency of Domicile; Establishing Intent to Remain or Return to Oregon

The Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License (CSDL) submits the following comments in response to the Oregon Department of Transportation (DOT), Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), “to clarify that a true copy of a filed Oregon income tax return rather than the payment of income taxes in Oregon is acceptable as proof of domicile…” and “…when an Oregon tax return is acceptable to DMV as proof of domicile.” DOT’s proposed changes will enhance the security and issuance processes of the Oregon driver’s license and identification card and should be adopted.

CSDL (www.secure-license.org) is a 501(c) (3), crime prevention, educational, public charity. Our central mission is to educate the public and state officials on the benefits of a secure driver’s license. CSDL travels actively to respond to public information requests regarding public safety and homeland security benefits of secure drivers’ licenses. CSDL staff participates in radio, news print and television interviews to promote public awareness of the importance of ID card security. CSDL completes a variety of research in the areas of secure driver licenses and best practices for DMVs. CSDL currently has over 2000 members nationwide. CSDL is participating as a panel member in an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) sponsored industry working group: the Identity Theft Prevention and Identity Management Standards Panel.

Background

The Oregon Department of Transportation (DOT), Driver and Motor Vehicle Services
Division published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking “to clarify that a true copy of a filed Oregon income tax return rather than the payment of income taxes in Oregon is
acceptable as proof of domicile…” and “…and when an Oregon tax return is acceptable to DMV as proof of domicile.” Oregon has made significant progress over this past year, following changes in Oregon law pertaining to driver’s license issuance.

In 2006, responding to a request by Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, the Oregon legislature enacted reforms to the driver’s license and identification card issuance process. In the Executive Order that established emergency authorities for the DMV, prior to the legislative action, Governor Kulongoski stated that,

“Although the magnitude of these activities is not yet fully known, it appears that criminal organizations both inside and outside Oregon are using Oregon's permissive standards in order to assist persons to illegally obtain driver licenses and identification cards from DMV. These services are being advertised in foreign language newspapers in states with more stringent standards. It appears that these organizations transport individuals into Oregon for a fee and provide them with false residency documents solely for the purpose of illegally obtaining an Oregon driver license or identification card. Investigations into these activities are ongoing.”

While the scope, magnitude, or nature of the attack may change, criminals, terrorists and the like will continue to need and seek valid identification to carry out their objectives. Drivers’ licenses and state issued identification cards remain the most accessible, cheapest and widely recognized form of identification in the United States. As such, individuals seeking to live under the cover of false identity will target those states with weak issuance standards to fraudulently obtain drivers’ licenses and other state issued identification cards.

The REAL ID Act, passed by Congress and signed into law in 2005 as Public Law 109-13, responded to this reality. The REAL ID Act sets minimum standards for drivers’ licenses and state issued identification documents that are used for “official purposes,” such as boarding an airplane or entering a nuclear power plant. The purpose of REAL ID is to close critical vulnerabilities and prevent criminals and other nefarious individuals who would seek to live under the cover of false identification from doing so.

Proof of Legal Residence

Generally only a few states require that an applicant provide proof of legal residence or principal residence, or proof that the applicant lives or resides in the United States for the purpose of obtaining a driver’s license or identification card. Federal regulations (REAL ID Act) define principal residence as “…the location where a person currently resides (i.e., presently resides even if at a temporary address) in conformance with the residency requirements of the State issuing the driver’s license or identification card, if such requirements exist2.” Federal regulations require that an applicant, “present at least two documents of the State’s choice that include the individual’s name and principal residence.”

Many states now require that an applicant sign an affidavit swearing that the applicant resides at a specific address. According to CSDL research, the number of different documents accepted by state motor vehicle agencies as proof of legal residence (within the respective states) range from a tax return to a letter from a leasing agent of an apartment building to a library card. Unfortunately, many of the documents acceptable as proof of legal residence within a state are easily counterfeited or may be fraudulently obtained from false document merchants. What is needed by Oregon and other states is a document establishing an in state address which can be reliably confirmed through another state agency.

General Comments

The proposed rule would require that, “[a] true copy of the Oregon income tax return
filed with the States of Oregon, Department of Revenue for the previous year, showing the person is a permanent or part-year Oregon resident.” The NPRM would require a certification by the person that the original return was filed, and that the applicant was an Oregon resident at the end of the tax year. The NPRM strengthens the legal residency requirements by (1) limiting the tax return acceptable for proof of residency to the return filed to the previous year, and (2) including a certification by the person that the original return was filed with the Oregon Department of Revenue.

In general, most states require that the documents used to prove legal state residence be dated as recent as the last six months prior to the date of the application for a driver’s license or identification card. If DOT were to accept tax returns from previous years as opposed to a tax return from the previous year, there is a much greater risk that the applicant presenting the tax return is no longer residing in the State of Oregon.

Additionally, the NPRM requires that an applicant certify that the applicant’s tax return is the person who is presenting it as proof of legal residence. This desirable rule change increases the risk for applicants planning to provide fraudulent documents, which may act as a disincentive. It also provides state law enforcement with an additional tool to prosecute an individual for knowingly committing identity fraud. Because a fraudulently obtained driver’s license is the first step in economic crimes such as mortgage fraud, law enforcement often uses such fraudulent document records to establish proof for prosecution of identity fraud, concurrent with other criminal charges.

Recommendations

While CSDL supports these changes, DOT may want to consider additional changes that would enhance the integrity and security of the driver’s license and identification card issuance process as it pertains to proof of legal residency.

Limit the Number of Documents Accepted to Prove Legal Residence and Verification

One of the most glaring vulnerabilities to the proof of legal residence requirements for state drivers’ licenses and identification cards is the broad range of documents
accepted. The Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) currently accepts a “[a]
document showing receipt of public assistance from an agency of the State of Oregon.” By contrast, “rent receipts,” also accepted by the DMV as proof of legal residency are easily counterfeited and or can be fraudulently obtained with little ingenuity. The DMV should (1) limit the number of documents accepted to provide proof of legal residency to those that are official copies of letters or forms received from state or federal authorities, such as social security benefit notices, or that can be verified by the issuing party and (2) develop procedures to verify those documents with the issuing authority – including at least a public records verification that the landlord issuing the rent receipt actually exists and rents property at the address provided.

Conclusion

CSDL supports the Oregon DOT’s proposed changes. These changes will enhance the security and issuance process of the Oregon driver’s license and identification card and should be adopted. Strengthening state requirements to prove legal residency are an important step to increasing the integrity and security of the Oregon driver’s license and state issued identification card.

Sincerely,
Brian Zimmer
President