New Rules for Receiving Identification

New BMV Rule Places Additional Burdens on Homeless

COHHIO is very concerned about a new rule adopted by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles in September that places an undue and unfair burden on Ohio’s homeless population. The rule requires proof of residency to qualify for a driver’s license or state ID, effectively denying people who are homeless the ability to obtain this essential form of identification.

COHHIO has joined six other agencies in requesting that the acting registrar of motor vehicles issue a directive approving a signed, witnessed statement from an Ohioan without a residence as a genuine and reliable document under Administrative Code 4501:1-21 (H) (24); and that the BMV-approved statement form be issued to all BMV locations in order to be completed on site.
Under the new BMV rule, people who are living in cars, on abandoned property, on the streets, temporarily with friends or family, or in other nontraditional residency venues are prevented from obtaining the identification necessary to improve their lives. Because state photo IDs are required for employment, housing, health care services and registration for voting in person, homeless people are prevented from meeting their basic human needs.

The ability to produce identification is often the final step into subsidized housing, to a good paying job, or into a government office to clear up a problem with access to public benefits. By making it more difficult to obtain identification, the BMV is often extending the stay by Ohio residents at a shelter or on the streets and forcing communities to pay the additional costs associated with homelessness.

We feel that as currently written, this new residency rule places an additional and formidable burden on our state’s most vulnerable citizens. Look for updates in future issues of Breaking Ground (COHHIO's newsletter).

Editor's Note: This article appeared in the COHHIO newsletter today. NEOCH fully supports this advocacy effort, and has been active along with the Cleveland ID Collaborative to get the State of Ohio to see how harmful these new rules are toward homeless people. We will keep you up to date.

Brian Davis
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