OK, comparison. In Victoria you get mailed[1] a licence renewal notice about 1-2 months before it expires. If you need an updated image then you have to go into VicRoads themselves or to a licence photo point in order to get a new photo taken. You have to bring your expiring licence, which must be within 6 months of the expiry date. Oh and money. They then send you out the new licence within the next week. (This is why you should do it before the old one expires
( ... )
Oh, we do get a notice about 6 weeks before expiration, but due to the nature of having to have several hours blocked off to wait in line, and having to go back a few times because I don't have all the papers...
We can also renew online, unless you renewed online last time (which I did), so they need a new photo, which is the only reason I'm bothering with this. Also, they give you a year past expiry to renew without having to take the driving test again.
Oh and the license offices aren't open on Saturday or Sunday. Monday 8am-7pm, Tuesday-Friday 7:30am-5pm.
my old license, proof of citizenship, proof of Social Security number, proof of vehicle registration, and proof of vehicle liability insurance (I don't know what they do if you don't own a car...)
Wow. Again.
Wouldn't proof of citizenship imply a social security number, or I have misunderstood how that works? As to the vehicle registration - I had my licence five years before I owned a car. It is, after all, a useful thing to have, even if you're living in the city next to a tram line and don't really need a car.
Actually, yes it does. All citizens and legal residents of the US have to have a Social Security number, for tax purposes.
I remember when I first got my license as a teenager, my dad had to come with me and show HIS ID, vehicle registration and insurance. I haven't had to renew my license without owning my own car since then (they're good for 5 years).
I'm surprised by the requirement for your parent/guardian to come along and show vehicle registration, that's seriously bizarre (from an Australian perspective, naturally!) and strangely paternalistic. Do you have to buy a car before you get a license if you're over 18? Weird. How about if you're over 25?
My licence is valid for 10 years, although you get a 3 year one when you first get your probationary licence, and seniors can apply to get a 3 or 5 year one (so they don't pay extra money for a valid licence they might stop using).
I've never had to use my tax file number, which is roughly equivalent to the social security number, for anything other than tax returns and filling in job contracts (again for tax, this time the PAYE and superannuation stuff). I don't think I could use it as ID, it doesn't have my photo on it!!
Well it couldn't be a new car--the dealers won't let you test drive without a valid license.
Licenses here are valid for 5 years, and can be renewed online every other time it expires. I renewed online in 2005 (which involved all of typing some codes into a website and authorizing the $25 charge), so this year I have to renew in person. Under 18 the license has to be renewed every year, and can't be done online (at least this was the case when I was that age; things might have changed somewhat).
Ours doesn't have a photo either. Just your name and the actual number itself. And yet it is widely used as a secondary ID for some reason. I haven't figured that one out.
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Seriously, that is insane.
OK, comparison. In Victoria you get mailed[1] a licence renewal notice about 1-2 months before it expires. If you need an updated image then you have to go into VicRoads themselves or to a licence photo point in order to get a new photo taken. You have to bring your expiring licence, which must be within 6 months of the expiry date. Oh and money. They then send you out the new licence within the next week. (This is why you should do it before the old one expires ( ... )
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We can also renew online, unless you renewed online last time (which I did), so they need a new photo, which is the only reason I'm bothering with this. Also, they give you a year past expiry to renew without having to take the driving test again.
Oh and the license offices aren't open on Saturday or Sunday. Monday 8am-7pm, Tuesday-Friday 7:30am-5pm.
Reply
Wow. Again.
Wouldn't proof of citizenship imply a social security number, or I have misunderstood how that works? As to the vehicle registration - I had my licence five years before I owned a car. It is, after all, a useful thing to have, even if you're living in the city next to a tram line and don't really need a car.
Reply
I remember when I first got my license as a teenager, my dad had to come with me and show HIS ID, vehicle registration and insurance. I haven't had to renew my license without owning my own car since then (they're good for 5 years).
Reply
My licence is valid for 10 years, although you get a 3 year one when you first get your probationary licence, and seniors can apply to get a 3 or 5 year one (so they don't pay extra money for a valid licence they might stop using).
I've never had to use my tax file number, which is roughly equivalent to the social security number, for anything other than tax returns and filling in job contracts (again for tax, this time the PAYE and superannuation stuff). I don't think I could use it as ID, it doesn't have my photo on it!!
Reply
Licenses here are valid for 5 years, and can be renewed online every other time it expires. I renewed online in 2005 (which involved all of typing some codes into a website and authorizing the $25 charge), so this year I have to renew in person. Under 18 the license has to be renewed every year, and can't be done online (at least this was the case when I was that age; things might have changed somewhat).
Ours doesn't have a photo either. Just your name and the actual number itself. And yet it is widely used as a secondary ID for some reason. I haven't figured that one out.
Reply
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