Sailing to Bahamas...Driver License question

[Sea Legs]

We are residents of Georgia and will be on Liberty going to the Bahamas.  We have regulated Georgia Driver's License but are not "enhanced"  Will they suffice for boarding?????

 

[shof515]

a regular driver license with a birth certificate or other documents is acceptable.

[rebeccac]

Just be sure that if you use a birth certificate that it is not a photocopy, it needs to be an offficial one with a raised seal.  

[sparks1093]

1 hour ago, rebeccac said:

Just be sure that if you use a birth certificate that it is not a photocopy, it needs to be an offficial one with a raised seal.  

No, it doesn't. The regulations do allow for photocopies and this is clear in Carnival's FAQ. (Not to mention that many states have stopped issuing raised seals.) I would prefer to bring the original birth certificate but it is good to keep in mind what alternatives are available, just in case.

 

OP, what you have is a non-REAL ID compliant license, which has nothing to do with Enhanced Drivers Licenses (EDLs). EDLs prove identity and citizenship in one document and only 5 states issue them. A REAL ID compliant license allows you to enter property under Federal jurisdiction because of beefed up procedures to obtain them. A government issued photo ID is all that is needed in conjunction with the birth certificate.

[Qchell]

When we were sailing with BC's I also ensured we had original state issued BC's.  The last thing I would want to happen is get to the port and not be able to board.  If you don't have one, they are very easy to get, just contact vital records for the state where you were born and you should be able to order them right online.  The last time I ordered one from FL, it arrived within two weeks.  You should be able to order multiple ones as well.  

If you were born in Puerto Rico and are sailing with a BC make sure it is an updated one.     Depending upon when you were born, they may not be acceptable under current laws.   Also be warned it takes a month or two for them to arrive.  We applied for our passports and ordered new birth certificates for my husband the same day (as they take your original BC with the application), our passports arrived before his birth certificates.. 

[south-carolinagirl]

From Carnival's website "

Birth Certificate Information 

The following are acceptable: 

• An original or copy of a birth certificate issued by a government agency (state/county/city) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics 
• A clear, legible copy (photocopy) of a birth certificate that was originally issued by a government agency (state/county/city) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics. The copy does not need to be notarized or certified."

[sparks1093]

12 hours ago, Qchell said:

When we were sailing with BC's I also ensured we had original state issued BC's.  The last thing I would want to happen is get to the port and not be able to board.  If you don't have one, they are very easy to get, just contact vital records for the state where you were born and you should be able to order them right online.  The last time I ordered one from FL, it arrived within two weeks.  You should be able to order multiple ones as well.  

If you were born in Puerto Rico and are sailing with a BC make sure it is an updated one.     Depending upon when you were born, they may not be acceptable under current laws.   Also be warned it takes a month or two for them to arrive.  We applied for our passports and ordered new birth certificates for my husband the same day (as they take your original BC with the application), our passports arrived before his birth certificates.. 

That is an excellent point about PR birth certificates and it isn't brought up often. But this is an application of local law versus Federal law. Puerto Rico basically invalidated any birth certificates issued before a certain date due to rampant fraud. If anyone is using a Puerto Rican birth certificate they should definitely research it more.

[mscinmia]

52 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

That is an excellent point about PR birth certificates and it isn't brought up often. But this is an application of local law versus Federal law. Puerto Rico basically invalidated any birth certificates issued before a certain date due to rampant fraud. If anyone is using a Puerto Rican birth certificate they should definitely research it more.

It needs to be issued January 2010 or later and those BC's are blue in color.

[Buckeyefrank100]

23 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

No, it doesn't. The regulations do allow for photocopies and this is clear in Carnival's FAQ. (Not to mention that many states have stopped issuing raised seals.) I would prefer to bring the original birth certificate but it is good to keep in mind what alternatives are available, just in case.

 

OP, what you have is a non-REAL ID compliant license, which has nothing to do with Enhanced Drivers Licenses (EDLs). EDLs prove identity and citizenship in one document and only 5 states issue them. A REAL ID compliant license allows you to enter property under Federal jurisdiction because of beefed up procedures to obtain them. A government issued photo ID is all that is needed in conjunction with the birth certificate.

You are mostly correct but the official policy says "original or copy" of birth certificate.  The term "copy" may mean photocopy of it, but it could mean copy from the government office.  There is only one original and that is from the State Department of Health...  all other requested BC are considered certified copies.  Most agents will take a photocopy, but I would think it's best to have the certified copy to be safe.

[sparks1093]

6 minutes ago, Buckeyefrank100 said:

You are mostly correct but the official policy says "original or copy" of birth certificate.  The term "copy" may mean photocopy of it, but it could mean copy from the government office.  There is only one original and that is from the State Department of Health...  all other requested BC are considered certified copies.  Most agents will take a photocopy, but I would think it's best to have the certified copy to be safe.

Post #6 quotes the FAQ directly and it plainly says that a legible photocopy is acceptable and it could not say that if the regulations did not allow it (a cruise line may impose a stricter standard than the regulations, but they cannot have a lesser one). It is best to take the original but there may be times when a photocopy is the only thing available. The only way an agent wouldn't take it would be if it was not legible. (And note that this isn't a "policy", it is a Federal Regulation with the force of law. If anyone wants to read them, here's a link: Federal Register :: Documents Required for Travelers Departing From or Arriving in the United States at Sea and Land Ports-of-Entry From Within the Western Hemisphere ). 

[ray98]

Years and years of the same questions on here and people still want to dispute that a photocopy is acceptable even when it plainly says on Carnivals own site that it is.🙄

 

As for the original question.....Yes....a Georgia DL is sufficient ID to go with a BC.

 

Birth Certificate Information 

The following are acceptable: 

• An original or copy of a birth certificate issued by a government agency (state/county/city) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics 
• A clear, legible copy (photocopy) of a birth certificate that was originally issued by a government agency (state/county/city) or the Department of Health and Vital Statistics. The copy does not need to be notarized or certified."

[DeanDeeDee]

I never had to show more than my driver's license to rent a car in Freeport.

[sparks1093]

24 minutes ago, DeanDeeDee said:

I never had to show more than my driver's license to rent a car in Freeport.

Which of course has nothing to do with the documentation needed to board a cruise.

[DeanDeeDee]

Sorry, I read it wrong.

[teknoge3k]

Photocopy of your birth certificate and ID is all you need. Also just to clarify, you mentioned you do not have an Enhanced Drivers License and live in Georgia. Georgia does not offer an Enhanced Drivers License. They have a RealID, which isn't the same thing.