New rules for Utah drivers' licenses

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Starting Jan. 1, Utah drivers renewing their license will have to line up at a motor vehicle office to show proof of identity and U.S. citizenship or residency.

They won't be able to sit at home and order a new license online.

Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, said the changes are necessary to make sure only U.S. citizens can get regular drivers' licenses. Immigrants can get a driving-privilege card.

Bramble says a federal law called the Real ID Act is behind the changes.

Drivers will need a Social Security card, birth certificate, naturalization papers or passport, plus a utility bill in their name or a recent bank statement.

The new requirements will last for five years — enough time for everyone with a current license to cycle through the process, said Nannette Rolfe, director of the Driver License Division. Utah licenses last five years.

Bramble, who sponsored the change in law, said he's fielding complaints about the inconvenience.

"But those same people don't want illegal aliens to get drivers' licenses, either," he said Friday. "You can't have it both ways."

Another problem: Other states are starting to reject Utah's drivers' licenses — not for driving, but for other forms of proof involving citizenship or residency, he said.

In the past, it was possible for people who weren't U.S. citizens to get a Utah driver's license. They were able to do it by showing an individual tax number, Bramble said.

The changes also mean that people in this country legally, such as students on a visa, will get a special limited-term license that works temporarily as a federal ID.