[name]Just[/name] wondering if anyone here is from NSW? Lately I’ve been thinking about name combo’s, and being an obsessed name nerd I actually called the RTA and asked about how many character fit on a NSW drivers licence. Turns out it’s 26 characters, including spaces. This is making me kind of cranky, given that my married name is 9 letters as it is. So, I was wondering if anyone has the issue or knows of anyone with the issue of not being able to fit their full name on their drivers licence, and if there are any implications/problems? [name]Do[/name] they substitute with initials? Would is be a deterrant for anyone else, like using shorter names to fit the entire thing on the licence? I would like to use 2 middle names but I am now second guessing. Any advice from anyone overseas even who may have been in a similar situation? Anyone had problems proving their identity because their birth certificate and drivers licence are different? I don’t want to be selfish and give my kids 2 middle names if it’s going to cause problems for them.
I’m in NSW at the moment, US expat. Can’t say I knew about this. Can hit 26 with just 3 names, though! EEEEK.
I wouldn’t do a name I couldn’t fit on the forms. I have seen that cause a lot of aggravation. [name]One[/name] FN, unhyphenated, one middle name, one LN for me. I’ve seen people get a lot of issues with what names to leave out and identity confirmation and if you bring government agencies into it, it can just turn to a hot mess.
Thanks stripedsocks, I appreciate your response, and totally sympathise, I too can hit 26 characters with a first, middle and last name. I think you can fit more characters on the actual birth certificate form, it’s just limited to 26 characters on the drivers licence. Anyone else have any experience with this type of thing?
I’m in [name]VIC[/name] so this may not be helpful but my license only has my middle initial. I have 21 characters (23 if spaces count) with my first, middle and last names together so that would not be the reason why VICroads put only my initial and not my whole middle name on the license. I have not had any troubles proving identity with only the middle initial. Good luck.
Bex, I’m no expert at all on driver’s licenses. As far as I know, you can just use one middle name on any official form, no matter how many you possess.
I would think they would just need to be able to be identify you from your name and date of birth, so even an initial would help.
Maybe you could phone the RTA again, and ask what happens if your full name doesn’t fit on the driver’s license.
I’m from NSW but live in QLD now.
It isn’t something I’ve even thought about! My boys names are fine, but our girls name is 24 characters including spaces! Phew! Thankfully even though we hsve 2middle names, they’re both only 4 letters!