My wife's quest for a DL and CPL in West Virginia

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Okay, let me preface this by saying my family moved to W. Virginia a little over a year ago. My wife's family is originally from here, and her grandmother and aunt & uncle still live here.

My wife was born in South Florida (where her parents still reside) and that is where I spent the last twenty years or so.



Within a month of moving here I went and got my WV driver's license. I have a Fl CWP which is recognised by WV, but now that it has expired I have decided to get a WV Weapons Permit.



No problem for me.



The problem is my wife. She wants a West Virginia DL and a West Virginia Concealed Weapons Permit.



The problem ?



The DMV has told her she needs a birth certificate to get her DL. No problem. But the birth certificate is in her MAIDEN name. Her FL driver's license is in her married name.



To accept the birth certificate as 'hers' she has to show a marriage license. No problem, here's the copy issued to us by the county clerk in Florida...



PROBLEM.



DMV says a county-issued stamped COPY is no good, they need an original. Well, I called down to Florida and spoke with the county clerk's office. FLorida doesn't issue an 'original', all they will issue is a stamped notarized COPY. Which is apparently good for everyone in the known universe except for the WV DMV.



I asked the DMV lady what I could do and the only suggestion she had was to (I'm not making this up) fill out an application for a marriage license in WV and essentially 'get married' by the county clerk so we'd have a 'legitmate' marriage license.



Sorry, I got married eight years ago by a minister,in the eyes of God and under the dubious authority of the Broward County Clerk of Ft. LAuderdale Fl.



Any ideas ? MY wife has been 'warned' by a local PD that she needs to get a WV driver's license ASAP--actually, the guy said you're supposed to get it within ten days of taking up residence here, but the DMV won't budge.



And in the mean time, my wife has decreed that she's gonna just Open Carry, as it's allowed. I'm still trying to work out the details, apparently she'll have to unload and secure the firearm before getting into a motor vehicle--which has me a little uneasy, as she's constantly driving to and fro with the kids, I don't want her to get in trouble if she forgets to secure the gun while loading the kids in and out of the mini-van.

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Without seeing the document, I'm not sure whether or not this would work.

Get an extra copy somehow; possibly a color photocopy, or maybe a separate copy from Florida. White-out the "COPY" stamp; make aphotocopy of that, (so that the White-out doesn't show); and present thatto the DMV.

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You could probably file a name change in that court - usually a pretty simple process - to document the name change.

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[align=left]Our DMV in WV has serious issues.. They see terrorists and ID thefts around every chair. A friend of mine who is and has been a Police Officer was denied a DL renewal because he didn't have the "Right" ID. they wouldn't take his Police Department ID, his County 911 issued ID, or his Military ID. The only way I can see this will change is to get an attorney to write to the DMV if this doesn't work.. Have him file suit against the DMV. after all its not like you are trying to use a library card, You have an official Document from the state of Florida.[/align]
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[align=left]Search the WV state Code I'm no sure but I think you have 30 days to change your DL once you take up residency[/align]
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[align=left]Chapter 17 is our Motor Vehicle laws[/align]
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[align=left]http://www.legis.state.wv.us/WVCODE/Code.cfm[/align]

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The DMV told us that the only thing they will accept is a full color signed and stamped original marriage license--the one the Florida County Clerk filled out when we were married. The clerk gave us a signed and notarized and stamped copy when the ceremony was over and it has been in our files for the last eight years...but apparently that isn't 'real' enough.

It's kind of nuts. If my wife had just brought the birth certificate, maybe she could have gotten a DL in her birth name, but then again, she has to provide a utility bill as well in her name, so again we are stuck having to 'prove' our marriage and name change.

I gotta tell ya, I'm gonna be pretty pissed off if we have to go through another marriage ceremony at the courthouse to get a WV marriage license. They're acting like no one in the state has ever gotten married and had their maiden name changed to their married name, like it's some weird sort of 'new thing' that people are doing. Jeeze, my cousin's been married three times. I can only imagine the time she'd have trying to get a license up here.:cuss:

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Look, you need to take this over the DMV clerk's head up to higher, get your state rep involved, or do an end run and just file a name change doc with the court - they will accept that at teh DMV for sure. Anyway, unless this has somthign to do with getting the gun carry license too, I think this horse is tired and needs to be stabled.

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Okay. Yeah, I didn't want to turn this into a never-ending thread.

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I also recently moved to West Virginia, and I gotta say the bureaucracy AND idiocy is rampant when ever you need to get anything done in this state.

Not only with government agencies, but even simple tire shopping.

I had to go back to a certain tire dealer three times because they kept ordering the wrong thing for my truck.
Not once said sorry for my inconvenience or offered to take few dollars off the price.

Same thing with the DMV.
A US Passport is accepted as a form of Birth Certification.
Bit I had to go and photocopy the WV state and Federal laws to show them that.

Actually that sounds like a way for your wife to get her DL.
She can get a passport in a few days if she pays extra.

Plus its always good to have a Passport. I have had to leave the country acouple of times with very little time to prepare.