OLYMPIA — The Port Angeles office already is booked through February for appointments to get enhanced driver’s licenses, the state Department of Licensing reported on Tuesday, the first day such appointments could be made.
At least 40 people had booked appointments in the Port Angeles office by 3 p.m. Tuesday, said Brad Benfield, media relations manager for the state Department of Licensing.
“You’ve had a bunch,” Benfield said.
An enhanced driver’s license will work like a U.S. passport to re-enter the United States by land or sea from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean as of Jan. 31.
At least two specially trained agents will be in Port Angeles on Wednesdays and Fridays to process applications for the licensees, Benfield said.
They will see about five people per day at the Port Angeles licensing office in Armory Square at 228 W. First St.
The Port Angeles licensing office is the only location in Clallam and Jefferson counties where applications will be taken for enhanced driver’s licenses or enhanced state ID cards.
But appointments can’t be made at the Port Angeles office.
To make an appointment, phone 866-520-4365, a toll-free number that rings in West Seattle.
The application process, which includes an interview, will take from 45 minutes to an hour.
It is necessary to bring proof of citizenship — a birth certificate or other proof of citizenship such as a passport — and of Washington state residency.
A current driver’s license, utility bills, mortgage and insurance documents are among the qualifying items for the residency requirement.
Applicants will need to give their Social Security numbers, too.
Holders of valid licenses will pay $15 for the enhanced license features.
But, when a standard license is renewed with the enhanced features, it will cost $40 for a license that will be good for five years.
It will take from one to two weeks to get the license by mail.
The state licensing office expects that as many as 300,000 people statewide will apply this year for the new license.
Eleven offices throughout the state will take applications.
