How do you get a Ph.D on your driver's license?

Answer 1

Well, honey, you don't get a Ph.D on your driver's license. A Ph.D is a fancy degree you earn after years of hard work and research, not something you slap on your ID next to your picture. So, unless you want to confuse the DMV clerk and end up with a revoked license, I suggest you stick to the appropriate credentials.

Answer 2

You'll note there is no space for "Mr.", "Ms.", or "Mrs" on your license/ID. Similarly, there is no place for the title of "Doctor" (this is the title a Ph.d earns you). Nor is there a place for "Father" for priests or any other titles.

Medical doctors receive a separate photo ID from the Physician's board. But even theirs is not recorded on their ID/license issued by the DMV. It is possible to list on your passport in some countries, but, as far as an academic or theological degree, unless you want to carry documents with you, people will have to go by your good word.

I am a recipient of a doctoral degree, and while I do use the title "Dr." rather than "Mr." because I am proud of it, I don't hammer people with it or correct them if they call me "Mr." To be too pushy with your doctoral title will make you seem like a snob with self-esteem issues.


To add to the mess, in the United States, there is actually no centralized body which can determine what organizations can and cannot grant degrees. There are certain accrediting bodies used by conventional colleges and universities, others used by alternative foundations and think tanks, and even others used by pay service degree mills. So, it would be hard for the DMV clerk to decide whose doctoral title goes on and whose does not go on their license /ID. Can a Harvard graduate have it, but not a graduate of a theological college? Can a university graduate have it but not a foundation degree recipient? There is no "Official US Government" body that determines these things, so, it would be rather difficult for the DMV clerk to decide on an ad hoc basis who got it and who didn't.


Some people have gotten around this by actually changing their name to include a title. Your first name would become "Dr." -, but to me, this is nonsense.