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NScott20 Asked March 2021

My mother suffers from Dementia and her drivers license is expired. Is there a way to get her a state ID without going to the DMV?

My mom gets very upset/disoriented when we go somewhere new. I know she needs an ID but is it really worth it?

InFamilyService Mar 2021
Just keep her expired driver's license as a form of I.D.
We have done that for husband's 92 aunt with advanced dementia.

funkygrandma59 Mar 2021
Unfortunately you can only renew a drivers license online, and not a state ID. Kind of crazy if you ask me. You can however make an appt. with the DMV, so she at least won't have to wait long.
Now all that said, my husbands drivers license expired in 2015, and because I did all the driving , as he was no longer able to drive at that time anyway, I never did take him to get a state ID. On the very rare occasion,(honestly I can't remember a time)if his Dr's office asked for his ID, I just showed them his expired one. It was never an issue. He went until his death in 2020 without a state ID.
InFamilyService Mar 2021
Absolutely correct, even the bank does not care if the driver's license is expired.

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JoAnn29 Mar 2021
I am with Burnt. My Gsons ID (suffers from epilepsy) expired and his new job requires an updated one. In NJ, he can't renew online. So he has an appt for April which job excepted. If I were you, I would see if you can just renew her drivers licence online. With COVID they may allow it.

See if your DMV will do home visits. Mom had to go in person some years back. She was all hunched up with a walker. They made her stand for a picture and sign. She forgot how to spell her name. I think its cruel. I don't even remember if I ever used it.

BurntCaregiver Mar 2021
Unless you're planning on putting mom into a care facility, she has to have current ID that is not expired.
By how long is her license expired? If it's only by a few months then you might be able to renew it through a AAA in your area. This is far easier on everyone then going to the DMV.
Even if your mom has dementia and isn't allowed to drive anymore, it will save you a whole lot of grief to just renew her license and not bother with the red tape of trying to do a DMV ID instead.

SeaMar Mar 2021
Don't forget you also need a marriage license. I just did this for my MIL in Delaware. Quite the experience - she didn't know how to spell her middle name (she thought it was "Lee" but birth certificate was "Lea"), didn't know why she wasn't getting a license (had 3 car accidents in the past year and can barely walk, plus we removed her from a very neglectful situation and left her car there). As far as the getting a license - I told her she didn't need one as we would drive her and she for sure wasn't driving my husband brand new car and not driving my baby. Have fun!

AlvaDeer Mar 2021
Call your local DMV office and ask about this. Different areas may have different answers. Does she have other ID? Say a valid passport. I do believe for most intents and purposes an old license and a birth certificate that is from the records office would work for just about everything I can imagine. I am assuming she will not be "flying". She would need a valid Real ID for that. Although TSA let me fly with an expired license last year which I accidently grabbed instead of my current one.

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