# Error on driver's license



## Brangus (May 1, 2010)

Yippee, my Spanish driver's license finally arrived. And it states "Lugar de nacimiento: Holanda" although I was born in the U.S.A. [cue Bruce Springsteen tune]

Does anyone actually check and/or care about the place of birth listed on a driver's license? I am planning to ignore the error, unless someone has a horror story to share.

Heck, they don't even include that detail on U.S. licenses. They do list your weight, and being a nation of lard butts, most everyone lies about that!


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## Morten (Apr 20, 2011)

I cant think of any potential disasters from this and havent heard any horror stories.

I vote: Ignore.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

A more common error it seems is the groups being wrong, when changing from a UK to Spanish licence .... i.e, they miss a group off


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Brangus said:


> Heck, they don't even include that detail on U.S. licenses. They do list your weight, and being a nation of lard butts, most everyone lies about that!


How bizarre! So if you go on a diet and lose a load of weight, do you have to renew your license?


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## Brangus (May 1, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> So if you go on a diet and lose a load of weight, do you have to renew your license?


Generally speaking, if you lost weight, then your license would become accurate!
I haven't held a U.S. license in a few years, so maybe weight is no longer required. In the past they also listed hair and eye color, which seems equally strange.

More trivia: In Chicago you could also take the eye exam in Polish.

Thanks for the advice. I will stick with my new Dutch birthplace!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Brangus said:


> Generally speaking, if you lost weight, then your license would become accurate!
> I haven't held a U.S. license in a few years, so maybe weight is no longer required. In the past they also listed hair and eye color, which seems equally strange.
> 
> More trivia: In Chicago you could also take the eye exam in Polish.
> ...


not to put a dampner on this - but since the driving license is used by so many as a form of officially accepted ID, might it not cause a problem somewhere down the line?


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2011)

Brangus said:


> Generally speaking, if you lost weight, then your license would become accurate!
> I haven't held a U.S. license in a few years, so maybe weight is no longer required. In the past they also listed hair and eye color, which seems equally strange.
> 
> More trivia: In Chicago you could also take the eye exam in Polish.
> ...


I just renewed this winter. Weight is still there, although they're now putting you into a category (eg. 1 for really light people, 2, 3, 4, etc.) 

Height is also on my license. 
Wish it was valid here!


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## Brangus (May 1, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> since the driving license is used by so many as a form of officially accepted ID, might it not cause a problem somewhere down the line?


Is the driver's license used in Spain that way, though? So far, people have always asked for my NIE (_permiso de residencia_ card) as a form of ID. Perhaps it's different for UK citizens....?

Plus my photo looks pretty good and that's really the most important part of a driver's license, isn't it?


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## Morten (Apr 20, 2011)

xabiachica said:


> not to put a dampner on this - but since the driving license is used by so many as a form of officially accepted ID, might it not cause a problem somewhere down the line?


I cant really think of any situations though - its sometimes used, but ive never encountered that it was for birthplace reasons - always just to put a face on the ID. Might be wrong, but the stuff that requires further kinds of IDs tend to ask for residencia/NIE instead.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Brangus said:


> Is the driver's license used in Spain that way, though? So far, people have always asked for my NIE (_permiso de residencia_ card) as a form of ID. Perhaps it's different for UK citizens....?
> 
> Plus my photo looks pretty good and that's really the most important part of a driver's license, isn't it?


it is used by Brits a lot as ID -not for anything really official, but in banks and so on - we can't get a photo ID card, and many don't want to carry a passport

whether anyone would actually look at the place of birth I have no idea


I guess I'm thinking that if you ever needed to produce your licence & other docs, some jobsworth might see the anomoly & it could cause a problem - you just never know, do you?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> it is used by Brits a lot as ID -not for anything really official, but in banks and so on - we can't get a photo ID card, and many don't want to carry a passport
> 
> whether anyone would actually look at the place of birth I have no idea
> 
> ...


I don't think it'll be a problem in this way. 
I use my drivers licence for all shopping now and in the elections. They just look at the photo and name, maybe number. For anything else more official, signing a loan for example or in a notary, the A4 paper and passport will be required because that is the official identification paper that we have, speaking as a Brit.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I don't think it'll be a problem in this way.
> I use my drivers licence for all shopping now and in the elections. They just look at the photo and name, maybe number. For anything else more official, signing a loan for example or in a notary, the A4 paper and passport will be required because that is the official identification paper that we have, speaking as a Brit.


except he's American - & the license says he's european - which of course could be very useful...................

I was thinking driving offence where he HAS TO produce the licence & maybe passport etc. - some of these uniformed types can be very jobsworth


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> except he's American - & the license says he's european - which of course could be very useful...................
> 
> I was thinking driving offence where he HAS TO produce the licence & maybe passport etc. - some of these uniformed types can be very jobsworth


Well when it comes down to it, the info on the licence IS wrong, through no fault of the OPs (unless he filled a form in wrong somewhere) so if he is picked up about it there's no argument. The document is incorrect. False documents often contain mistakes and illegal immigrants, rip off merchants and worse have been caught out many a time for this kind of thing. If a policeofficer questions the document is he a jobsworth (an expression I learnt on this forum!) or is he in fact doing his job?
At the end of the day it's a question of can the OP be bothered or not.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Well when it comes down to it, the info on the licence IS wrong, through no fault of the OPs (unless he filled a form in wrong somewhere) so if he is picked up about it there's no argument. The document is incorrect. False documents often contain mistakes and illegal immigrants, rip off merchants and worse have been caught out many a time for this kind of thing. If a policeofficer questions the document is he a jobsworth (an expression I learnt on this forum!) or is he in fact doing his job?
> At the end of the day it's a question of can the OP be bothered or not.


IMO he'd just be doing his job

& we all know that if the caca hit the ventilador the onus would be on the OP to prove that he didn't make a false claim on the original form - if he could



in his position I'd get it changed


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> IMO he'd just be doing his job
> 
> & we all know that if the caca hit the ventilador the onus would be on the OP to prove that he didn't make a false claim on the original form - if he could
> 
> ...


So, in fact the whole thing could be misconstrued as the OP wanting to claim EU status??!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> So, in fact the whole thing could be misconstrued as the OP wanting to claim EU status??!


well I guess it COULD be - how much more useful is EU status in Spain than US citizenship?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> well I guess it COULD be - how much more useful is EU status in Spain than US citizenship?


Well the whole employment thing...


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Well the whole employment thing...


exactly...............................









not that I'm suggesting the OP did this on purpose, of course, or surely he wouldn't be here asking advice about it


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## Brangus (May 1, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> except he's American - & the license says he's european - which of course could be very useful...................


No, the license doesn't state my citizenship. Being born in Holland doesn't automatically make a person a Dutch subject.

Thanks, though. These responses have made me reflect back on the many hideous errors that have occurred on legal documents in the past. This one is petty in comparison.

Come to think of it, I'm married to a guy whose family name was misspelled on his birth certificate and his parents never bothered to fix it. His entire life, his name has been pronounced the same but spelled differently from the rest of the family. Maybe that lax attitude has rubbed off on me.....


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Brangus said:


> No, the license doesn't state my citizenship. Being born in Holland doesn't automatically make a person a Dutch subject.
> 
> Thanks, though. These responses have made me reflect back on the many hideous errors that have occurred on legal documents in the past. This one is petty in comparison.
> 
> Come to think of it, I'm married to a guy whose family name was misspelled on his birth certificate and his parents never bothered to fix it. His entire life, his name has been pronounced the same but spelled differently from the rest of the family. Maybe that lax attitude has rubbed off on me.....


yes you're right - but I guess the implication is there

it's just that paperwork here is a pita & if you DID come up against someone difficult it could cause problems - though probably won't

funny about your husband..................my dad always thought he was born on 29th Oct - & he put that on every form he filled in his entire life!

it was only when we got his birth cert out last year to get him his 1st passport (age 85!) that he discovered his birthday is actually the 28th!!


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## Brangus (May 1, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> my dad always thought he was born on 29th Oct - & he put that on every form he filled in his entire life!
> 
> it was only when we got his birth cert out last year to get him his 1st passport (age 85!) that he discovered his birthday is actually the 28th!!


If his family said he was born on the 29th, he should believe that rather than a piece of paper written up by some bureaucrat who was in a hurry to head home for the day. His passport might say the 28th, but he should enjoy his cake on the 29th.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Brangus said:


> If his family said he was born on the 29th, he should believe that rather than a piece of paper written up by some bureaucrat who was in a hurry to head home for the day. His passport might say the 28th, but he should enjoy his cake on the 29th.


he enjoys cake every day!

and at his age he rather likes being a day older than he thought

I somehow don't think his family was too good with dates - we still haven't found out when his mum was born (something else that came up when getting his passport), as there seems to be no record of her even existing before she married his dad!!


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