Plastic ID Cards in CA?

[nublar]

Saw this on the Board website. Guess these will replace those rinky dinky $115 paper license cards

• ANNOUNCED JULY 19, 2016 - License identification cards are coming! The Board has heard your requests and is pleased to announce the long awaited return of the plastic ID cards. We will be issuing license cards to active and retired licensees over the next few months.  Please be patient and make sure your address is up to date on License Lookup and only submit an Address Change if necessary.

  http://www.bpelsg.ca.gov/
  

 

[ptatohed]

Very good to know.  Thanks for the info nublar!

Now, cross your fingers that they will be no bigger than a credit card so they can actually fit in your wallet! 

 

[Road Guy]

What is the purpose of them? Who do you show them to?

 

[ptatohed]

What is the purpose of them? Who do you show them to?

Good question, I have no idea.  CA used to always provide plastic cards along with your new expiration date each time you would renew your license (bi-annually).  Then they stopped and started sending paper versions and asked you to go laminate it yourself  (the frickin thing was like 110% the size of a credit card so it didn't fit nicely in a wallet).  I have always just taken my paper one and put some clear packing tape over it.  But what are they used for?  I really don't know!  I think I used mine once in 4 years - for some "professional" discount or something. 

 

[Road Guy]

I heard that if you take them to Starbucks and show it to them they will sell you a cup of coffee for $2.75

 

[kevo_55]

Collect them & trade them with your friends.

"DAMN, I got a ptatohed rookie card!!!!!" 

 

[Dleg]

What is the purpose of them? Who do you show them to?

It's for if you get pulled over for drunk engineering, the cop will know who he's arresting.

 

[cupojoe PE PMP]

I was on a jobsite once (non-union) where the electrical inspector had received a report from a [disgruntled] former electrician that not everyone doing electrical work had an electrician's license. Long story short, the inspectors showed up, everyone dealing with electrical stuff had to line up and show their licenses. He was concerned about us (design engineers) being on-site until the PE (my boss) showed his PE license card. Everything was okay after that. I'm not sure that was in his authority to check, but it sure made the question go away. So I carry mine (at least my home state) whenever I go to jobsites.

 

[ptatohed]

I think I used mine once to get an insurance discount.  I could have just as well faxed them my actual certificate but the wallet card was more handy. 

 

[smahurin]

I wondered that too.  I recently got my SE in Alaska and was sent a paper wallet sized ID card.  Thought it was interesting, but pointless.  You can carry around a piece of paper in your wallet to PROVE YOU'RE AN ENGINEER!  Just what everyone always wanted.  

 

[ptatohed]

My plastic ID card arrived in the mail yesterday.  It seems pretty nice.  It is the size and thickness of a credit card. 

What's weird is, the letter says "It does not replace your pocket certificate...".  I thought that was the whole darn point!!!  To replace the worthless paper cert with a hard card.  So now, we have to carry around two worthless things in our wallet?

Well, anyway, this new plastic ID card is the coolest most useless thing I have ever owned.   

 

[ptatohed]

Did anyone else receive their cards?

 

[jijir83]

My plastic ID card arrived in the mail yesterday

Does it have an expiration or renewal date?

Some people at work got theirs and they were confused as to why it doesn't have a date.

 

[ptatohed]

No date.  You aren't going to receive a new hard card every 2 years.  This card is it. 

 

[kevo_55]

I have both of my cards. One for my Civil license, and one for my Structural license.

I got my Civil one maybe a month ago. I got my Structural one last week.

 

[leggo PE]

I got my PE card!

 

[CAPLS]

BPELSG does not produce the "worthless" paper card which is PROOF you have a license in good standing.  It is produced by a different agency.  BPELSG chose to reissue plastic cards for various reasons, including they last longer.  Try to imagine yourself as a land surveyor or geologist stomping around in the woods and on private property and the owners pull a gun on you and law enforcement show up.  Having the card helps as cupojoe provided another example above.

 

[ptatohed]

Didn't mean to offend you by calling it worthless.  I was more or less using an exaggerated (bad) joke to make the point that I have never used, nor do I anticipate using, mine.  But it is cool and I do carry it.   

But knowing we still need to carry the dated paper card, I am still not seeing the point of the dateless hard card.  ?

 

[CAPLS]

Didn't mean to offend you by calling it worthless.  I was more or less using an exaggerated (bad) joke to make the point that I have never used, nor do I anticipate using, mine.  But it is cool and I do carry it.   

But knowing we still need to carry the dated paper card, I am still not seeing the point of the dateless hard card.  ?

You didn't offend me, just giving you a hard time.  I always hated the perforated paper card too and prefer to carry the plastic one.

 

[ptatohed]

You didn't offend me, just giving you a hard time.  I always hated the perforated paper card too and prefer to carry the plastic one.

)

Agree.  But I guess I am still not getting it. 

  I still don't understand what the (dateless)  hard cards are for if we are required to always carry the (dated) paper cards.