Opinion ID: 852218
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The Bureau's Statutory Authority

Text: As for whether the Code empowers the Bureau to hold to a definition of legal name, the Bureau points out the requirement that cards contain full legal names, that holders must apply for new cards within thirty days of a name change, and that the Bureau may suspend or revoke the current driving license of any person for any reasonable ground appearing on the records of the bureau or invalidate an identification card that it believes to have been issued as a result of fraudulent documentation. (Appellee's Br. at 15 (citing Ind.Code §§ 9-24-9-2(b)(1), 9-24-13-4, 9-24-15-2(b)(1), 9-24-16-2(c), 9-24-16-7, 9-30-4-1).) Additionally, the Bureau has implicitly determined that a mismatch between its own and Social Security records may be evidence of fraud. (Appellee's Br. at 15-16.) The General Assembly required an application to include a person's name, birth date, and Social Security number, indicating it anticipated the Bureau might verify identities using these points of data. Ind. Code §§ 9-24-9-2; X-XX-XX-X. The Social Security Administration is as logical an anchor as any to accomplish this end. In light of the section's requiring an application to include a Social Security number and the Bureau's responsibility to verify its records, there is no doubt that the statute allows the Bureau to use Social Security records to verify Appellants' identities. Ind.Code §§ 9-24-9-2; X-XX-XX-X; see Ind.Code § 9-30-4-1. If Appellants' position about the statute held sway, drivers could change their names through the common-law method and demand their license reflect that change without taking any formal actions with the agencies that maintain their records. Like it or not, the Social Security Administration has become the custodian of Americans' basic identifying information, and almost all state governments rely on this information to verify identities. ( See App. at 7.) In light of this reality, the Bureau has logically decided to verify the identities of those with licenses and identification cards with the Social Security Administration. Because the General Assembly requires a name along with a Social Security number, the Bureau is within its authority to depend on Social Security to maintain Appellants' verifiable names. Appellants are not likely to succeed on the merits regarding their argument that to verify their identities by matching names exceeds its statutory authority.