2018 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 66 - Motor Vehicles
Article 5 - Licensing of Operators and Chauffeurs; Financial Responsibility; Uninsured Motorists' Insurance; Identification Cards
Section 66-5-401 - Identification cards; application.
A. A person who does not have a valid New Mexico driver's license or driving authorization card may be issued an identification card by the department. An application for an identification card or renewal of an identification card shall be made upon a form furnished by the department. An application for an identification card shall contain the applicant's full legal name; date of birth; sex; and current New Mexico residence address and shall briefly describe the applicant. The secretary shall establish by rule documents that may be accepted as evidence of the residency of the applicant. The department shall establish two distinct identification cards as provided in Section 66-5-405 NMSA 1978: an identification card that meets federal requirements to be accepted by federal agencies for official federal purposes and an identification card not intended to be accepted by federal agencies for official federal purposes. A person applying for or renewing an identification card that meets federal requirements to be accepted by federal agencies for official federal purposes shall provide documentation required by the federal government of the applicant's identity, date of birth, social security number, if applicable, address of current residence and lawful status. The department shall verify the applicant's lawful status and social security number, if applicable, through a method approved by the federal government. Pursuant to the federal REAL ID Act of 2005, the secretary shall establish a written, defined exception process to allow a person to demonstrate the person's identity, age and lawful status. The process shall allow a person to use a certified letter of enrollment or a valid identification card issued by a federally recognized Indian nation, tribe or pueblo to demonstrate the person's identity or age or to demonstrate the person's lawful status, if applicable. A person with lawful status may apply for an identification card that meets federal requirements to be accepted by federal agencies for official federal purposes or an identification card not intended to be accepted by federal agencies for official federal purposes. Every application for an identification card shall be signed by the applicant or the applicant's parent or guardian. The secretary may, for good cause, revoke or deny the issuance of an identification card.
B. An application by a foreign national with lawful status for an identification card that meets federal requirements to be accepted by federal agencies for official federal purposes shall contain the unique identifying number and expiration date, if applicable, of the foreign national's valid passport, valid visa, employment authorization card issued under the applicant's approved deferred action status or other arrival-departure record or document issued by the federal government that conveys lawful status. The department may issue to an eligible foreign national applicant an identification card that meets federal requirements to be accepted by federal agencies for official federal purposes that is valid for a period not to exceed the duration of the applicant's lawful status; provided that if that date cannot be determined by the department and the applicant is not a legal permanent resident, the identification card shall expire one year after the effective date of the identification card.
C. The department shall issue an identification card not intended to be accepted by federal agencies for official federal purposes to an applicant who is otherwise eligible but who does not provide proof of lawful status and who affirmatively acknowledges that the applicant understands that an identification card not intended to be accepted by federal agencies for official federal purposes is not valid for federal purposes. An applicant who does not provide proof of lawful status shall only apply for an identification card not intended to be accepted by federal agencies for official federal purposes. For an application for an identification card not intended to be accepted by federal agencies for official federal purposes, the secretary shall accept as proof of the applicant's identity and age:
(1) a social security number or an individual tax identification number;
(2) a passport from the applicant's country of citizenship or an identification card, issued by the consulate of Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the consulate general of Mexico in El Paso, Texas, or such other foreign consulate with which the department has established a reliable method of verifying the authenticity of the identification card;
(3) a valid New Mexico license or identification card;
(4) a certified letter of enrollment or a valid identification card issued by a federally recognized Indian nation, tribe or pueblo; or
(5) a document that the secretary has authorized.
D. The secretary may adopt rules providing for the proration of fees due to shortened validity periods authorized pursuant to the provision of this section.
E. Within the forms prescribed by the department for identification card applications, a space shall be provided to show whether the applicant is a donor as provided in the Jonathan Spradling Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act [24-6B-1 through 24-6B-25 NMSA 1978]. A person applying for an identification card may indicate that person's status on the space provided on the application. The donor status indicated by the applicant shall be displayed on the identification card. The form and identification card shall be signed by the donor in the presence of a witness who shall also sign the form in the donor's presence.
History: 1953 Comp., § 64-5-401, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 328; 1985, ch. 11, § 1; 1989, ch. 318, § 18; 1999, ch. 76, § 3; 2004, ch. 59, § 20; 2007, ch. 323, § 33; 2016, ch. 79, § 9.
The 2016 amendment, effective May 18, 2016, created two tiers of identification cards, those that meet federal requirements to be accepted by federal agencies for official federal purposes and those not intended to be accepted by federal agencies for official federal purposes; in the catchline, added "application"; in Subsection A, after "valid New Mexico driver's license", added "or driving authorization card", after "may be issued an identification card by the department", deleted "certified by the applicant as to true name, correct age and other identifying data as the department may require" and added the next nine sentences; and added new Subsections B, C and D, and redesignated former Subsection B as Subsection E.
The 2007 amendment, effective July 1, 2007, changed the name of the act.
The 2004 amendment, effective March 4, 2004, added Subsection B.
The 1999 amendment, effective July 1, 1999, in the first sentence, deleted "thirteen years of age or older" following "Any person", substituted "department" for "division" in two places, substituted "applicant" for "registrant and attested to by the division", added the language beginning "by the applicant" to the end of the second sentence, and in the third sentence substituted "secretary" for "director" and deleted "shown" following "good cause".
The 1989 amendment, effective July 1, 1989, added the last sentence.
