Missing licenses, ID cards returned as ‘undeliverable’

Question: Help! I renewed my license over two months ago but the permanent one didn’t come in the mail as they said it would. …

Q: I filed an application to renew my license on June 22 … I was issued a temporary license to be used until Aug. 20. My calls to customer service have not been answered. What should I do next?

Q: How long does it take to issue a permanent driver’s license? My temporary license expires next week! … The DMV phone lines all seem to be recorded information lines (or say the lines are busy, call back later). How can I find out what has happened to my license?

Answer: If you applied for a Hawaii driver’s license or ID more than six weeks ago and have not received your permanent card, call 768-9128, a city phone line dedicated to this problem, which has prompted numerous complaints to Kokua Line.

You will be greeted by a recording explaining that your license or state ID may have been returned to the city as undeliverable, and asked to leave a message. What happens after that depends on why you don’t have your card.

Sheri Kajiwara, director of the city’s Department of Customer Services, explains:

“We have also been puzzled by the number of concerns from people not receiving their permanent plastic card in the mail. We have been investigating it.

“A small percentage of cards do require additional clearances before being mailed related to medical issues or visa confirmations. These are held in ‘pending’ files and may take longer than the four to six weeks.

“For security purposes, plain white envelopes are used, giving no indication of the contents. In a small percentage of mailers, we find that the plain unmarked envelope had been disregarded by the receiver as junk mail.

“But we find that a vast majority of (affected) cards are being returned as ‘undeliverable’ by the U.S. Post Office. Every two weeks, we see 200 to 300 pieces of mail returned with a notation that the individual no longer resides at the address provided. The federal government requires proof of valid address before a card serving as an ID is to be issued. Should people provide an old address thinking that the card will be forwarded, or that a friend will receive it on their behalf, they must know that this will not happen. The U.S. Post Office is requested to return all undeliverable envelopes where the named individual and the address provided are not as verified in their system.

“If six weeks have gone by without a person’s card arriving, we ask that that the applicant call 768-9128, leave his or her full name and address as it appears on the card, and leave a contact number. With the large number of returns, we are working with the post office to try to identify the reasons for the rejections. We will research the person’s card and call back with the status.

“If the card request is still ‘pending,’ we will expedite a new 60-day temporary card at no cost. If the address is found to involve a data-entry error on our part, it will be corrected, a temporary given, and a new plastic card will be expedited at no cost to the applicant. If the system shows that the address provided was invalid, the applicant will need to apply for a new card, bring in the valid address documents to be scanned and pay the duplicate fee of $6.00. If the system shows that the card was mailed successfully, and not returned, the applicant will need to apply for a duplicate card and pay the $6.00 fee. This can be done online at license.honolulu.gov. There is an extra $1 fee for the online service.”

We also checked with the U.S. Postal Service. Spokesman Duke Gonzalez said the agency would work with the city to improve delivery and apologized to affected customers.

Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.