SSN Required for Boat Registration - Really?

Just tried to register Jet Ski. Form requires DNRid, that you cannot get without providing SSN. I sent the following letter. Am I wasting my time?


Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Eastern Regional Service Center
Licensing and Registration Center
201 Baptist Street, Suite 22
Salisbury, MD 21801-5021

Licensing,

I attempted to get a DNRid that is listed as “REQUIRED” on my boat renewal application. In order to obtain that ID, the internet registration process requires my SSN.

I do not believe this is a requirement. Also, I need to protect this number, and I have no assurance that the State of Maryland has sufficient protocols in place to protect this information.

Federal law provides protections when you are requested to provide your SSN. The Privacy Act of 1974 requires that all government agencies that request SSNs provide a disclosure statement on the form. The statement explains whether you’re required to provide your Social Security number or if it is optional. Additionally, the document must detail how your SSN will be used.

This application does not comply with Federal Law.

I have provided my check with the completed form, less the DNRid.

If there are any questions, I can be reached during working hours at my office at (301) XXX-XXXX, or my home at (301) XXX-XXX. My email address is XXX.com.

Thank you,

Maryland Victim, ESQ.

Not_an_outlaw said:

Just tried to register Jet Ski. Form requires DNRid, that you cannot get without providing SSN. I sent the following letter. Am I wasting my time?


Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Eastern Regional Service Center
Licensing and Registration Center
201 Baptist Street, Suite 22
Salisbury, MD 21801-5021

Licensing,

I attempted to get a DNRid that is listed as “REQUIRED” on my boat renewal application. In order to obtain that ID, the internet registration process requires my SSN.

I do not believe this is a requirement. Also, I need to protect this number, and I have no assurance that the State of Maryland has sufficient protocols in place to protect this information.

Federal law provides protections when you are requested to provide your SSN. The Privacy Act of 1974 requires that all government agencies that request SSNs provide a disclosure statement on the form. The statement explains whether you’re required to provide your Social Security number or if it is optional. Additionally, the document must detail how your SSN will be used.

This application does not comply with Federal Law.

I have provided my check with the completed form, less the DNRid.

If there are any questions, I can be reached during working hours at my office at (301) XXX-XXXX, or my home at (301) XXX-XXX. My email address is XXX.com.

Thank you,

Maryland Victim, ESQ.

Click to expand...

Below is posted in red on DNR homepage and has been for quite some time:

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources does not currently require a DNRid# for boat titling and registration. Boat renewals - which inadvertently listed the DNRid# as a requirement instead of an option - were mailed in late November to vessel owners whose registrations expire December 31, 2013. We sincerely apologize for this communication error.

Good Luck

I went a few rounds with them for a range card for Elk Neck last year, basically telling them the same thing........

Didn't win

DaveP said:

Below is posted in red on DNR homepage and has been for quite some time:

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources does not currently require a DNRid# for boat titling and registration. Boat renewals - which inadvertently listed the DNRid# as a requirement instead of an option - were mailed in late November to vessel owners whose registrations expire December 31, 2013. We sincerely apologize for this communication error.

Click to expand...

^This

That's great, but maybe they should correct their webpage and registration form.

It would be nice if they send me a letter. I don't like mining for information.

Even better was arguing with a Walmart clerk about providing my then 9 YO's SS for a hunting license. When I asked WHY they needed it, he said, "You know, state's looking out for child support and stuff".

Well, in all fairness, it WAS in LaPlata......

Eh, any more I'm just happy if my interactions with any government agency or their surrogates doesn't require them touching my junk.

Not_an_outlaw said:

That's great, but maybe they should correct their webpage and registration form.

It would be nice if they send me a letter. I don't like mining for information.

Click to expand...

LOL, some years back, when entering me and mine for the bear lottery, had to have a different emal addy for each applicant. Well, I have more kids that hunt than email addresses.

Emailed DNR regarding it, never heard back

Easy solution, stopped applying in MD.

Shame you don't live near Delaware. Have my ski registered in de, $30 for a 3 year registration. Only needed info from my license, no SSN needed

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Don't worry, "undocumented workers" can get a drivers license in this state on your dime.

But MD makes you think you need to provide your SSN for a duck boat...

you can apply for the DNRid through your drivers on merlin.

AFAIK it is MD law that no licenses be issued to someone that owes child support. The number is entered on a system that just says yes or no and you go from there. Company does not retain information and can not see what is owed, if you are delinquent.

Good luck

Jerry

Head to Sandy Point during the summer and count all the Mexicans who have boats out there poaching fish and crabs. Perhaps requiring a SSN would cut down on this?

I had heard they are doing this so that if you owe child support you can't be issued a license or register a vessel.

no, they just won't register them. kind of like they didnt register themselves before coming here

TonyB. said:

Head to Sandy Point during the summer and count all the Mexicans who have boats out there poaching fish and crabs. Perhaps requiring a SSN would cut down on this?

Click to expand...

Got an update from the DNR on my letter in my original post. They answered quite promptly. After I got the below email, I still wasn't sure if I needed to provide my SSN. On a follow up email, the DNR stated "not at this time." I am annoyed by this potential requirement that seems to be encroaching on states rights.

DNR: There were two issues at play that resulted in the DNRid# requirement on your boat renewal. First, the boating database was scheduled to move to the Department’s new Compass licensing system in Fall 2013. This meant that anyone renewing a boat decal had to be in that Compass system. Compass is designed to require the full SSN as the unique identifier for a US citizen.

Subsequent to the printing of > 100K boat renewal forms, we learned that the boating module would not be delivered as anticipated. At that point, our only option to notify boat owners that the DNRid# was not necessary was our Department website and media contacts and social networks.

A complicating factor is that Maryland statute promulgated in response to federal deadbeat parents legislation specifically required collection of the full SSN. Maryland has requested a waiver from the feds to change to collecting only the last 4 digits; but until the waiver is granted, Maryland would lose millions of dollars in social services monies if they fail to collect the full SSN.

Until March 2012, federal regulation required the Department to collect the full SSN for every vessel owner. Prior to that change, the full SSN was required for every vessel owner. The next iteration of the Compass licensing system, projected for the 2nd Quarter of 2014, will be designed to collect only the last 4 digits of the SSN for vessel owners or the combinations allowed in 33 CFR §187-101 (see attached). Fishing and hunting statute separately require collection of the full SSN. Legislation will be required to make those changes, which means that, despite the planned changes to our licensing software, hunters and anglers will still be required to provide the full SSN.

As to your security concerns, DNR employs industry standard security measures to safeguard our customers’ data and the integrity of our systems (see 2nd attachment). We encrypt all data that is entered into our system, log all transactions, and log all user or customer updates to data elements throughout our systems. We also have sniffer programs that watch for after-hour logons to identify any possibility of system or data misuse.

Two changes have been made to the DNR website as a result of concerns with this year’s boat renewals. The first are the changes made to the top of the 1st page you see on the boating tab of the DNR website. The email message following was sent to all Licensing staff.