Carbon County Press Release
In order to prepare for the Real ID Driver License or Non-Driver Identification Card Program as well as Next Generation 911, some county residents and businesses will have to change their physical address. The Carbon County Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Department, along with the United States Postal Service (USPS) Address Management Office in Salt Lake City, have been tasked with ensuring that all county addresses are in compliance by the end of 2021.
Starting Oct. 1, 2021, a Real ID Driver License, Non-Driver Identification Card or a Passport will be required for domestic flights or to enter a secure federal facility. The Real ID Driver License or Non-Driver Identification Card will be marked with a gold star in the top-right corner to indicate it may be used for federal identification.
To assist residents with providing proof of Utah residency for Real ID, the USPS Address Management Office in Salt Lake City will be reassigning HC Box mailing addresses with the residents’ property addresses. Affected residents will receive a letter from the USPS notifying them of their updated mailing address.
Next Generation 911 (NG911) is working to modernize emergency response systems across the nation to accommodate how people communicate today – mostly using mobile and digital devices. It’s a standards-based, Internet Protocol (IP) system that upgrades the capabilities of 911 by enabling more types of communication. Additionally, it aims to create a nationally uniform 911 data system that enhances data sharing across jurisdictions.
In preparation of NG911 and Real ID, Carbon County GIS is reviewing county addresses for non-compliance issues, such as:
- The property was not previously assigned an address.
- The previously assigned address was out of sequence.
- The previously assigned address was not assigned to the correct street.
- The previously assigned address is on a road that requires a name.
- The previously assigned address is on a road with multiple street names and requires the designation of a primary street name.
Carbon County will only change an address if it is determined to be non-compliant for NG911 and Real ID, or there are multiple reports from utility companies, emergency responders and carriers that the previously assigned address is difficult to locate. If it is determined that a property requires an address change, the owner will receive a letter from Carbon County, notifying them of their final NG911 property address.
“We understand that an address change can be very inconvenient to a resident and we hope to make that change as easy as possible,” Carbon County GIS Director Barry Horsley said. “The Real ID and Next Generation 911 initiatives are both extremely important to strengthen national security as well as improve public safety response times.”
As the county reviews and finalizes addresses in their GIS database for NG911 and Real ID compliance, updates will be submitted to popular mapping programs, such as Google Maps, TomTom and OpenStreetMap. Most shipping services, such as UPS and FedEx, receive periodic updates from the U.S. Postal Service. Unfortunately, Carbon County is unable to submit address changes directly to these shipping services, and must wait for them to update their databases.
Residents affected by this change are encouraged to follow the same steps as if they were moving to a new address. The first recommendation would be to submit a USPS Change of Address request that includes all household members.
“Change of Address requests are valid for one year after the start date,” said Postmaster of the Price Post Office Joni Iverson. “Mail sent to the previous address will be forwarded during this period.” This will allow time for residents to change their address with any applicable entity or individual.
Residents are also encouraged to post their property number to both their primary structure as well as their mailbox. By doing so, first responders and carriers are able to locate an address with greater ease. County residents can verify their property number before posting it by emailing gis@carbon.utah.gov.
For questions or additional information regarding mailing address changes, residents can contact the Price Post Office at (435) 637-1638.