Section 102.025. Document condition and authenticity.

 

(1)   General document conditions. All documents offered by persons applying for licenses or identification cards issued by the department shall be original documents, unless otherwise expressly allowed. Certified copies of government documents shall bear an original certification and the seal of the appropriate agency, or otherwise exhibit evidence to the satisfaction of the department that the document is an authentic, accurate and unaltered copy of the original government document. Mutilated, altered or uncertified photocopies of documents are not acceptable.

(2)   Suspect document. The department may decline to accept any document required to be presented as part of an application for an operator's license or identification card if it has any reason to suspect the authenticity of the document, the identity of the person named in the document, the identity of the applicant, that the residency information provided by the applicant is inaccurate, or for any of the reasons specified in sub. (3) . In such a case, the department may retain the document and investigate its authenticity, provide the document to local, state or federal authorities, require additional documentation from the individual to establish the fact that the document was offered to prove, or any combination of these actions. Documents determined to be genuine and to identify the person who presented them shall be returned to the person, except as provided in sub. (3) . Documents containing photographs of the holder may be rejected if the person is not readily recognizable from the photograph. Documents bearing signatures or reproductions of signatures of the holder may be rejected if the signature or reproduced signature does not clearly match all other signatures provided by the presenter as part of the application or on file with the department. Documents containing other data will not be accepted if any facts lead the department to question the authenticity of the document or accuracy of the data.

(3)   Confiscation of document.

(a) Employees or agents of the department may take possession of any document submitted as proof of the person's name and date of birth, identity, residency or any other fact sought to be proven to the department and may turn those documents over to local, state or federal authorities in any of the following circumstances:

1. The document is or appears to be counterfeit.

2. The applicant presents documents related to another individual under the guise that the applicant is the other individual.

3. The document appears not to be or is not a genuine document.

4. The document appears to have been altered.

5. Law enforcement has requested the department confiscate documents presented by a specific person.

(b) In the event the department confiscates a document and determines that it is genuine and relates to the person who presented it, the department shall return the document to the person, unless the department has provided it to other local, state or federal authorities.

History: CR 04-100 : cr., renum. (1) from Trans 102.15 (7) and am. Register June 2005 No. 594 , eff. 7-1-05.

Note

This provision permits the Department to reject documentation or photos, but does not create a duty to inspect all DOT files when processing each application. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Section 343.14 (5) , Stats., makes it a crime to present false information in connection with an application for a driver license or ID card. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1