Do elders need a state ID?

Call DMV and ask if Driver's Licence expirations have been extended in your state.

I don't know the actual answer to your question, but when my husbands license expired about 7 years ago and he also was unable to drive then, we did not go for state ID. I just continued to show his expired license where needed(which honestly was not very often)and it was never questioned. If your mom isn't going many places these days, I don't know why a state ID would be needed. That's just my 2 cents worth.

Call DMV and ask if they have the service where someone comes to Mom. Its been a few years, but I had to take my Mom even though I explained her Dementia made it hard for her to understand. As her POA I was not allowed to sign for her. She couldn't remember how to spell her name and her writing was awful, but they excepted it.

My state has given people 60 or 90 days to renew. At this point, I would not worry about it. If she has a valid passport, that's better than a State ID. Wait until this Virus thing is over. People should be sympathetic anyway.

I never renewed my father's and never had a problem. Like you, it was too much of a bother to go through the process to get a state ID.

In Maryland, you can request DMV to come to your home to take a photo. Maybe your state offers similar services? Call them.

In NY a person must show photo ID at doctor’s office visits along with an insurance card. My mother lives in an AL and uses their physician as her primary so she doesn’t have to show ID. However, when she goes to her cardiologist or other outside physician she does. I still use her driver’s license that expired five years ago and have never been questioned. Just renew her license . It’s not like she’s going to use it to drive.

When my dad moved to my state he was no longer driving. We went and had a state ID made but he never needed it for anything. So was a waste. Since he used a credit card to buy his groceries when he was in IL, no one needed to see an ID to write a check. So I would say not to worry about it and just use her expired license. You know she won’t be driving, so if it concerns you, renew it online.

IYou're probably better off renewing her driver's license, unless you live in a really organized, uncrowded state. I called the DMV in San Francisco about getting my mother an ID in May of 2019; they said they'd call when they could get someone out to us. She passed away in November. I'd cancel, but you can't reach humans there these days...

My 90 year-old father renewed his driver's license online - it was so much easier than getting the "non-driver" ID. Not all states allow this, though.

Quite often the Secretary of State will go into facilities and set up "shop" and do ID's for residents. They will often go into Senior Centers as well.
Check with your State DMV and see if they have anything scheduled.
If it is not possible then I would renew the Drivers License if there is no possibility that she would drive. (If she did happen to drive then the "fib" about her health would come back to bite you (her).
The only "problem" that might arise is when she goes to a doctors office, particularly a new one they always ask for your Insurance card(s) and a photo ID. Some offices might have a problem if the ID or Drivers License is expired.

Seems really idiotic that one can renew a DL and not have to appear but to get an ID you do. I suppose this is due to the fact that often the background is different on an ID than it is on a DL.

We are really careful with my mom's drivers License.  We cannot renew online as she has moved.  Doctors office will take an expired driver license, but hers will last till she is 104

My mother used her expired id as proof of address when applying for absentee ballot. It was returned asking for more proof. had to come up with another source. I read that people in nursing homes could use an expired id... mom's in Al so I guess that didn't count!

Also, the real id will be needed for*any* flight after 10/21... not likely but a consideration.

Dear Patrice2,
My mother had a driver’s license at one time, which was later changed to a State ID. She then went into an assisted living and during that time her ID expired. The Registry said she had to come down to renew, which was not going to work for us. I let it expire and there has been no problem needing an ID for anything. I was also very nervous thinking she is going to need an ID for something.
 
When my mother first went into the assisted living, they took a picture of her with her name, which the facility used for identification purposes. Her address became the facility’s since it was her new home.
 
For five years from the time my mother was at the assisted living facility to the time she moved to the nursing home facility, there has been no need for a State ID for ID purposes.

She will need a valid ID at some point. I suggest renewing her driver's license online since many more people will have this option available during COVID.

Our mom’s ID and license expired on her 80th birthday during Covid and we are not trying to get an appt to go in person to get a renewal. She’s not driving anymore anyway and thankfully we renewed her passport in November so that’s all she needs for ID and to travel. You can get a passport by mail.

My mother's license expired three years ago and she didn't renew it. The expired one is accepted fine - at doctor's offices, banks, for prescriptions - since it has a picture. She's in assisted living and is 84. I wouldn't renew the DL if I were you. Why spend the money for a new DL?

My mom stopped driving several years ago. When her license expired we used it for ID for a couple months but then the docs and therapists told us we needed to get a state ID. This is in Ohio so it may vary by state. A couple times when she has had to go to the hospital it was used for ID as well. Check your local laws and see what is required for ID in your state.

Upon moving from Minnesota, Texas DMV came to my parents' AL. We did all the paperwork and they even brought a blue cloth to hold up behind them for the photo. I believe I had to call Secretary of State office in Austin to get it done in San Antonio. Local DMV offices had no info on this service.

Thank you all so much for the helpful answers. It is a relief to hear so many of you say that an ID wasn’t really essential to you. I may go back online and renew that drivers license if I can though, just in case. This forum is the best!

Most places checking IDs probably just look at the picture and name to make sure they match the person in front of them and don’t even look at the expiration date. I think renewing the driver’s license online is what I would do especially right now during COVID-19. You know she won’t be driving, so safety isn’t an issue.

The last time mom's license was renewed, she had to go in person. Had my YB told me of the accidents she'd had, I would not have facilitated this. She had to bring a letter from her ophthalmologist as using the eye check at the DMV wouldn't work for her. They did the renewal. She had yet another accident (mostly covered by ins, and that's when I learned about the previous accident!) She was not driving at night for some time, and her "circle" of comfort was shrinking. However, unexplained damages were disturbing. Well before the license expired, dementia had kicked in and we had to get the car away from her.

Anyway, after trying to bring aides in, just 1hr/day check to be increased as needed so she could remain in her condo as long as possible, she refused to let them in (lasted about 2 months.) So, about 4.5 years ago we moved her to MC.

Her license was still "current" for about 8 more months. One time during a trip to get mac deg treatments, she was rifling through her wallet and purse (usual during any doc or dental visit, during the drive or wait) and came on the license. In talking about it, I pointed out that it was expired. She didn't ask about getting another.

I considered looking into an ID, esp since she was moved over the state border to be closer to us, but never did it. Since it was a different state, no question that she would have to go to get the photo done and that wasn't happening!

No one has ever asked for an ID, not even at a new dermatologist I took her to. Medicare card, yes. I provide them with a copy of the POA and have had NO issues. What's funny about that is for years she said she had lost the Medicare card. While waiting for this appt, she was going through everything as usual and lo, there it was! I snagged it, saying they needed it and didn't give it back. This was before the ID change. By the time new IDs were issued, I had become rep payee for SS, so it was sent to me. The facility has copies of SS and Medicare cards, and no one has ever asked for an ID.

I wouldn't bother renewing it. IF someplace asks for photo ID and won't accept the expired one, explain the situation. At a reg doctor or dentist office or even a hospital, they should understand and accept it. The Medicare card information should match the name, etc, and should be sufficient. If she needs to see a new doc or go to hospital, most likely her reg doc should be referring. Why they would need a "current" or non-expired picture ID is beyond me!

The current state of affairs in California, due to Covid-19

In California, if a person needing to renew their driver's license by making an appearance is 70 y. o. or older, the DMV has given an automatic extension for one year from the date of expiration. This is due to many DMV office closures and limited appointments, and overload from the pandemic.

This was just announced late in July. It was said that one will not need to document the extension. It is automatic.

However, if you sign up for a DMV account online, one can print out the letter of extension to carry it with you.

She should at least have a senior ID. I say this from my point of view as both a California elder law attorney and a notary public. As long as she has mental capacity, she has the ability to create and sign certain legal documents, and may well have that need. Many of those documents must be notarized. A California notary cannot notarize if the expiration on the ID is older than five years. I would imagine other states have similar rules.

My husband was very ill for several years. His DL expired. When we went to the bank to change his checking account to a different one at the same bank, they refused to use his expired DL. We are now trying to get an ID, but they need a birth certificate (which we can't locate) We've ordered a new one twice and paid, but still no birth certificate! Don't know what to do next?

Renew it online. Does your state allow that license to be downgraded into just an ID online?
It's an unfortunate place to be. BUT, she will run into issues, if she fails to have it renewed. (Banking, etc.)

This happened to my mother: As she was legally blind, she did not realize that she had let her ID only card from the DMV expire. That presented a real problem for us when we were getting the PoA doc notarized. Fortunately, the Notary Pubic was a freind of her's and he let her use her COB (Commissioner of the Blind) ID.

For you, does your mother perchance have an opthamologist? If so, they can send in the application for the ID DMV card.

I don't advocate that you lie about her health when obtaining the ID card. Lying about one's health is unlawful, of course, when applying to the DMV.

What about getting a senior citizen photo ID? But the point is getting a new photo for it.

This year, I was able to renew my CA DL online with my same photo of 2010. But in five years, I will require a new photo. By that time, COVID-19 shoud be presumed gone.

Call the RMV and ask if you can apply for some type of ID online. I got a handicapped card for my mom and the registry used her old drivers license photo.

You have received some really good answers. I just wanted to say that I also had to get both of my parents driver's licenses redone when I moved them to my town. It was so hard getting them to the DMV and waiting to get to see someone. While we were waiting they called our number but by the time I had walked them to the window they had called another number and told us we had to start again. I had a meltdown right there and just took them home. I immediately wrote an email to my State representative, copied the head of the DMV and several news agencies with the subject "90 year old parents denied DMV identification cards". Within hours I had the DMV and my State representative begging to send someone to my parents apartment to issue new cards and take their pictures.
I have never felt such a sense of accomplishment before in my life.