@sapphire @skylar @eriner one of the big points of real id was simply that it had higher reruirements for every state. so in many states you can renew a license if you already had one and at no point did you ever produce a birth certificate. drivers licenses often did not require ssn card or birth certificate because ssn was federal and just plain not everybody had a birth certificate at all or accessible. tbh I don't remember the requirements for a passport before patriot act but after the patriot act ssn card was required for everything including stupid shit like just a bank account.