finally got my pin. still waiting on my plastic.

[Captain Digital]

So far, it's been a strange trip to getting my first CHL. My wife and I took our exams at the end of June, and sent in the paperwork right around the 4th of July. No worries. Then I discovered this website and heard about the ability to track the application progress online. I sent an email to DPS...and this is where it got weird.

I waited a week or so, with no response. I realize they are a government agency and all, but I'd run into my instructor who'd confirmed that the folks in the CHL office have gotten much faster with applications as of late. So...I called their offices, to see about getting a PIN. I spoke to a very nice, helpful CHL staffer (about 180 degrees away from the stereotypical "civil servant" you might expect to reach at a government office). He promised to hunt down my application and get a PIN for me.

A day or so later, I received an email from him - asking where I might have sent my application, as it was not to be found.

Uh oh.

I check with the spousal unit (a.k.a. my wife, who sent in her app at the same time). I learned that we'd sent the apps in using the pre-addressed envelopes provided by our instructor, and used separate envelopes for our respective applications.

Another exchange of emails followed. My DPS guy asked us to check with our bank, to see if our cashier's checks had cleared.

Uh oh, again. Now I was really getting worried. Bad enough to have our applications misplaced, but thinking that somebody might have cashed our checks was really getting aggravating.

One call to the bank later, and I learned that the checks had cleared on July 30, about three weeks after we sent in the applications. I emailed this information to the DPS guy, and...nothing. I decided to wait a few days before bugging him again (the last thing I need is to tick off the folks in the CHL office), then suddenly, what do I receive via the U.S. Mail, but an official-looking envelope from the DPS. A quick, preliminary check of the envelope's flexibility revealed that there was no license inside. (Sigh...) I opened said envelope and found...my PIN with a letter directing me to the CHL application site. I eagerly jumped onto the site, entered my information and was rewarded with two cryptic words:

Processing Application

That was a relief, as since I now have a letter with my PIN, it's proof positive that they DO have my application, and I need no longer worry about it being lost. I was excited - for all of about a half a day, until I ran into my instructor, who told me "Oh, yeah...you'll see 'processing application' right up until the day you get your card. I didn't mention the tracking site, because it really doesn't tell you much useful information."

Arrrrgggghhhh.

So...I'm stuck here in the waiting room, hoping that my application will soon result in a license I can call my very own. And if patience is a virtue, I'm the least virtuous person I know.

So, I wait. And wait. And wait...

[badkarma56]

Tranquilo, dude...what's your timeline?

[ktusc]

I understand man! I sent my application on 09Aug07 and I have yet to receive a PIN. I emailed the DPS a couple of days after I mailed my application (way too early) and got a prompt response stating that they haven't receive my application and that when they do they will mail me a PIN. So.....Here I am in the waiting room, patiently waiting.

I am driving up to Weatherford for the Labor Day weekend and was hoping to have my plastic by then. Doesn't look likely!!!