Make Sure Name Matcheson All Forms of Identification

What's your "real" name, and how does it appear on all your identification?

There's a new federal law known as "Real ID," and it could stand for "real ID trouble" unless you are prepared. The first thing to do is check your Social Security Card and then check your driver's license.

The names on each should (read: better) match. Try catching an airplane through three checkpoints of Transportation Security Administration workers if there's a difference between what's on your driver's license or state-issued ID card and your airline ticket.

For that matter, try getting your driver's license renewed now that the Georgia Department of Driver Services checks your name with the Social Security Administration's database to see whether the names match.

The same holds true when you attempt to obtain auto insurance or you're stopped for a traffic violation.

The Real ID law is coming, and it's best to keep your ID real because it will save you a great deal of time.

The key is consistency. For those who use nicknames and change their names when they get married, remember your Social Security card and driver's license name must match.

Homeland Security will publish its final rules within the next 90 days for detailed implementation of the law. More will be known at that time about exactly how the law will work, but there is no time like the present to start checking your forms of identification to make sure you will not be hassled when you must show your identification.

On the Web: www.dhs.gov/xprevprot/laws/gc_1172767635686.shtm is the Department of Homeland Security's Q&A page about the Real ID Law; www.giis.org is for the Georgia Insurance Information Service.

DAVID COLMANS IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE GEORGIA INSURANCE INFORMATION SERVICE, A TRADE ORGANIZATION FOR THE PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE INDUSTRY. LEARN MORE AT WWW.GIIS.ORG. BUSINESS LEADERS AND ECONOMIC OFFICIALS INTERESTED IN WRITING A GUEST COLUMN FOR THE IN YOUR WORDS FEATURE SHOULD CALL BUSINESS EDITOR DAMON CLINE AT (706) 823-3486.

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