This validation is for a specific purpose. In fact, and oddly enough, the federal govt (in its manifestation as the Post Office [0]) wants to validate my STATE id, not my federal ID. I think there's a barcode that they scan after validating it, but I am speculating since they won't give me the doc I need to take with me! Taking it to DMV wouldn't do any good.

This started because there was an option to do [black box process] with a phone. "But you can always show up in person (snerk snerk)." (it's a web site, it doesn't really talk in the first person or say "snerk") "Fine, I'll show up in person." "Alright, you'll need to print a document first... hang on a moment... give us your phone number. Oh sorry [black box process] says to tell you we don't recognize your phone, and we can't give you the doc." That's the gist of it. The black box process has been jacked into the process at the very beginning of the kill chain.

I've got to renew my drivers license in the next two months, we'll see how things go at the DMV.

[0] The Post Office is where I've gone to renew my passport.