On the photocopying of Virginia driver's licenses...

[herveus]

Because I was curious, I looked and found...

The prohibition which had been adduced some time back was to be found in § 46.2-346 of the Code of Virginia. However, some time back (2004), that section was amended as follows:

CHAPTER 722
An Act to amend and reenact § 46.2-346 of the Code of Virginia, relating to photographing or otherwise copying certain driver documents issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
[H 86]
Approved April 12, 2004

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 46.2-346 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 46.2-346. Unlawful acts enumerated.

A. No person shall:

1. Display, cause or permit to be displayed, or have in his possession any driver's license which he knows to be fictitious or to have been cancelled, revoked, suspended, or altered, or photographed for the purpose of evading the intent of this chapter;

2. Lend to, or knowingly permit the use of by one not entitled thereto, any driver's license issued to the person so lending or permitting the use thereof;

3. Display or represent as his own any driver's license not issued to him;

4. Reproduce by photograph or otherwise, any driver's license, temporary driver's permit, or learner's permit, or special identification cardwithout obtaining prior written consent of the Department with the intent to commit an illegal act;

5. Fail or refuse to surrender to the Department, on demand, any driver's license issued in the Commonwealth or any other state when the license has been suspended, cancelled, or revoked by proper authority in the Commonwealth, or any other state as provided by law, or to fail or refuse to surrender the suspended, cancelled, or revoked license to any court in which a driver has been tried and convicted for the violation of any law or ordinance of the Commonwealth or any county, city, or town thereof, regulating or affecting the operation of a motor vehicle.

B. Any law-enforcement officer empowered to enforce the provisions of this title may retain any driver's license held in violation of this section and shall submit the license to the appropriate court for evidentiary purposes.
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?041+ful+CHAP0722

The question related to using ones Virgina driver's license to document one's legal name for the purposes of invoking the mundane name allowance for the registration of a name with the SCA College of Arms. The usual standard was that a photocopy of the relevant document be provided. When it was discovered that this was problematic in Virginia, adjustments were made to accomodate that limitation. For quite some time now, it has been legal to make that photocopy -- a fact that has apparently hitherto escaped notice. Reference was made to this specific matter by a Sovereign of Arms at the Laurel Road Show at KWHSS.

Comments

[technomage.livejournal.com]

Yet further proof... heralds are geeks. (guilty)

[hlwoods.livejournal.com]

Whoohooo! That reminds me; need to submit my name request. As soon as I pick a surname. (I'm keeping mundane first name as first name with mundane exemption since my parents very graciously graced me with the name of Eomer's sister as a first name. Blessed be they who confound bureaucrats on two continents.)

[fosveny.livejournal.com]

Even if we could change it, I think it's still a good practice to have the ability to document things by attestation - not everyone has a photocopier at consult tables in the field.

Also, do we really need a photocopy of a mundane document, or is attestation good enough?

[herveus.livejournal.com]

I'm not suggesting that we do away with attestation as an option. It's an essential tool under a number of circumstances. However, it's not always an option, and being able to be flexible about what documentary evidence we accept is a Good Thing™.

All I am doing is noting that the specific situation that forced the issue is no longer an issue.

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit surprised the word hadn't gone out more broadly. We started zoxing drivers licenses in late 2005 or early 2006 after finding out they'd changed the law.

[middleaston.livejournal.com]

In the late 80s and early 90s, the Va drivers license was a 2-piece affair. One had your picture and a signature. The other, a dot-matrix printed affair had your legal name and birthdate.

the second part was un-laminated as it had fold-out sections. color photocopying gave you a new drivers' license...

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

They phased that out in 1984-85. My first VA drivers license, from 1986, was a one-piece.