The old license is not effectively invalidated in any way. Almost nobody you presented the license to would know that another one has been issued, besides possibly a police officer. It would be fairly easy to tell them that you got a replacement and then found the old one.
> The old license is not effectively invalidated in any way. Almost nobody you presented the license to would know that another one has been issued
That’s strange. Where I live, if you get a new ID you have to turn in your old one. You can keep a passport if you want (some people like to if they have a ot of stamps from their travels) but in that case they punch a couple of big holes through the entire booklet before returning it to you (basically, it removes the chip and some other security measures).
If you lost it you have to go to the police and report it lost. Then you need to hand over the police report when you request a new one. Reporting it lost or stolen also invalidates your drivers license meaning you can’t drive while you wait for your new license.
I see. In what region are you referring to? I have never lived in a state with any sort of concept of rendering your license invalid because you lost a physical license, nor have I been told to file a police report.
I looked it up for my state and they said you only must file a police report if you believe your license has been stolen, not lost, and you desire a new number. I’m sure policies differ among states.
I picked Michigan at random. Their website merely warns that the old license will be invalidated electronically and cannot be used for border crossing while encouraging use of online replacement services.
> rendering your license invalid because you lost a physical license
If you lost it, you can't drive anyway. Why would you not invalidate a lost license ? To clarify: the physical license is invalidated, and since you need to have a physical license on you to be allowed to drive, you can not drive until you get a new physical license.
If you fraudulently report your license as stolen, it is invalidated and you can no longer drive using that physical license. If you get a new one with someone else's photo on it, that basically means you can no longer drive a car.
I see. In the US, I've been stopped before when I didn't have my license with me and the officer looked it up on his computer. Of course you're expected to have the card with you, but that's a relatively minor requirement compared to having a valid license in the system. Forgetting your wallet at home isn't on the same level as being unlicensed.
I noted this earlier: " Almost nobody you presented the license to would know that another one has been issued, besides possibly a police officer." So the usefulness is for situations that are not driving and don't involve police. One could still definitely use the 'lost' license to get into bars or concerts, start accounts, and purchase alcohol or cigarettes.
That example was addressing whether it's legal/forgivable to drive without a physical license in your possession in the US. In my experience, it is, and also there's not an issue with insurance because you are legally licensed to drive.
As for the example of the fraudulent license holder, yes, the officer would probably be able to tell, which is what I've been saying this whole time - one would not want to present the old or the new license to the police.
Sure, an illegal license holder presumably either doesn't care or isn't prepared to deal with an auto accident, in which they would have to pretend to be the person on the license and it would go on that other person's record.
