Born at home, he was never issued a birth certificate.
BIG SPRING, Texas — An 87-year-old Big Spring man who has been driving legally for more than 70 years nearly lost his license due to new Texas Real ID requirements that demanded documentation he never had – a birth certificate.
Elvis Allison, born at home on June 8, 1937, was the youngest of six brothers and the only one without a birth certificate. Despite this, he obtained his first driver’s license at age 14 and served in the Texas National Guard, renewing his license without problems for decades.
“I didn’t have a birth certificate,” Allison said. “And I’ve never had no problems” – until now.
The new Real ID rules required Allison to provide a birth certificate to renew his license, which was set to expire on his 88th birthday, June 8. For the first time in his driving career, he faced the possibility of losing his legal ability to drive.
“This is the first time I’ve had to have a birth certificate,” Allison explained. When asked if it felt strange having to prove himself, he replied, “It’s weird, isn’t it? Crazy.”
His wife, Lajuan Allison, began the arduous process of gathering documentation, starting at the DMV and then contacting Texas Vital Statistics. She found his 1952 license application, but it didn’t list his birthplace. She uncovered a 1940 census record, but needed a certified government copy. The couple also requested his original Social Security application.
“Very time consuming and very stressful,” Lajuan Allison said of the process.
While waiting for those documents in hopes of obtaining a delayed birth certificate, Lajuan had a breakthrough idea: “If we get a passport, we can get him a driver’s license.”
The strategy worked. With a state letter confirming no birth certificate existed, Elvis was issued a U.S. passport, which he then used to successfully renew his driver’s license.
“We started singing hallelujah, hallelujah!” Lajuan recalled.
Elvis expressed relief at the resolution.
“I feel great, I feel great,” he said. “I mean, after 88, you think I wouldn’t have a hard time getting a driver’s license.”
Texas does allow delayed birth registration, but it requires records like census documents or Social Security forms. The Allisons are still waiting for some of those documents, but Elvis remains optimistic: “Everything’s going to be good.”
The lifelong Texan, who describes his home state as having “good people” and calls it “beautiful,” now has two forms of ID to prove his identity and can continue driving through the place he’s always called home.
“Just beautiful state, good people. It’s my home. It’s where I wanna die,” Allison said. “I don’t want to live no place else. You can’t pay me to live nowhere else.”