WEST VALLEY CITY — So packed were the cars in the parking lot of the Driver License Division on 4700 South on Tuesday that some drivers created their own spots after the lot's nearly 100 spaces were full.
Inside, the building was equally crowded. Yes, there were seats for the public, but you had to stand and wait at least an hour until you were far enough up in line to snag one.
The crowd was here to obtain drivers' licenses, or renew or make name and address changes on their existing ones.
"At least they have water and bathrooms," said Margo Colegrove of Salt Lake City. "But if I leave the line, I'll lose my position."
Colegrove, who said she had to get her driver's license renewed Tuesday, was smart. She brought a magazine to read in line. She also brought a sense of humor: "(The license is) expiring tomorrow, if I don't expire today," she said, laughing.
The hourslong lines at the division stem from a law that took effect Jan. 1. It requires the division to scan people's various identifications into a computer system to verify who they are so that they can legally obtain drivers' licenses and state identification cards, Utah Driver Services Bureau Chief Chris Caras said.
The new law puts Utah in compliance with the federal Real ID Act.
Before the law, Utahns had to show up to the division only when they first obtained their licenses or ID cards. Renewals could be done through the mail or on the Internet. But now, all Utahns with licenses or IDs need to be in the system. It will take about five years for all drivers' licenses and IDs to be renewed.
Compounding the problem is a new computer system the Driver License Division implemented to accommodate the documents that need to be scanned. Twice on Tuesday, the system was down.
"Right now at the West Valley offices, it's an hour-and-a-half to an hour and 45 minutes," Caras said about the average wait. "Again, it varies by office."
Last week, waits were as long as five hours, Caras said.
The offices are processing 450 to 500 people per day. "Our actual productivity has reduced because it takes us longer," Caras said, citing a figure of about 25 percent.
Why wasn't the new computer system live before Jan. 1? Caras said it was impossible to have the new system renewing and changing data from the old system.
"More employees would obviously help," Caras said. "However, we recognize the budget constraints on the state right now."
Joseph Frankl, who had to leave after an hourlong wait because he didn't have the proper documents, didn't care about a state revenue shortfall.
"A legislator ought to go through this," he said.
Multiple documents are needed, including a passport or original birth certificate. You can show a birth certificate copy if it is certified by the state you were born in.
If you were born in another country, you need a birth certificate and a certified translation of it.
You'll need your Social Security card. But Mark Bainter of South Salt Lake also got turned away after waiting for an hour because what he brought wasn't the actual card but a document notarized by the Social Security Administration, which he had visited earlier when he realized he didn't have his card. The administration told him the card would arrive in two weeks and sent him off with the notarized document that the driver license people rejected.
Bainter, who said he was missing school to obtain a new license after he lost his, also brought his Medicaid card as a form of identification. It also was rejected. If you can't find your Social Security card, various tax documents that will suffice.
If your name changed, you need to show official marriage or divorce records.
You'll also need two documents to prove your Utah address if it's different from what is on your current license.
That was a problem for Toni Nordgren, who is in the juvenile justice system and has moved around a lot.
"I don't have a residence," she said after being turned away from the division earlier in the morning. By noon, she was back at the division with a letter from her caseworker, hoping it would give her a state ID.
More specifics on which documents are acceptable are at publicsafety.utah.gov/dld.
Karen Shaughnessy of West Jordan brought two friends with walkers to the division. One had to renew her license. The other needed a state ID. Both faced long waits, either standing or sitting.
"It would be nice," she said, "if they had some place for handicapped people."
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