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NORTH FORT MYERS, Florida (WBBH) — Cara Marshall, 51, was denied a Florida driver’s license in Lee County after discovering her maiden name doesn’t match the name on her certified birth certificate, a discrepancy stemming from a decision her mother made decades ago.
“I’m not sure who I am anymore honestly,” Marshall said.
Marshall believed her maiden name to be Hendrix, as listed on her marriage license and old school pictures. However, she recently learned that her mother had changed her name when she was a year and a half old after marrying her stepfather.
“My mother never told me. She changed it herself, when I was a year and a half out when she married my stepfather,” Marshall said.
Marshall explained that her mother registered her in school and completed paperwork using the Hendrix name, hiding the fact that her biological father was Ronald Sniffen, whose last name should have been legally used.
“She did all the paperwork that way registering me in school and everything and never told me about it. She wanted to hide the fact that I had a different father,” Marshall said.
Marshall believes social pressures and stigmas at the time may have influenced her mother’s decision.
“In fact, she told me she wanted everyone’s name to be the same. She took it upon herself without doing it legally and now here I am,” Marshall said.
For decades, the discrepancy didn’t affect Marshall’s life. She attended school, worked, married, voted, and held a Real ID driver’s license in multiple states.
“In North Dakota I got a Real ID in 2022 and then we moved to South Dakota in 2025 and I got the Real ID down there…never had a problem and I was in and out in two minutes,” Marshall said.
However, after moving to Florida, the DMV denied her request for a license because her maiden name and the name on her certified birth certificate don’t match.
“It makes me go ‘who am I?’ How do I prove this now?” Marshall said.
Her case raises broader questions about the consistency of federal Real ID standards across states.
“If every state is following the federal Real ID standards, why are other states willing to issue her a license and Florida isn’t?” Marshall said.
Marshall expressed frustration with the situation.
“They’re setting me up to fail,” she said.
The extent of this issue remains unclear, and answers are still pending.
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