On Friday, the Secretary of State’s Office worked to flesh out new rules that will hit Bureau of Motor Vehicle branches Monday, hoping to avoid scenes of confused, frustrated motorists.

There won’t be any renewing drivers’ licenses in Maine online for a while.

Re-upping or going for a license the first time? Bring proof you’re in the U.S. legally.

Don’t have proof and that license expires this week? Don’t worry.

There might be a short extension coming your way.

The changes to state law trace back to last spring when Maine was warned by federal officials that it hadn’t done enough to work toward complying with the national Real ID Act.

Maine was warned that if it didn’t start tightening license requirements, “travelers may have found themselves subject to additional screening,” spokesman Don Cookson said. “The governor obviously had concerns about Mainers being singled out.”

The first change happened in April, when people going for and renewing licenses had to start proving they lived in the state. The second part of the law took effect Nov. 15: Proof of residency and proof of being in the country legally will both be required.

Maine was one of the last states not to have at least one of those requirements already on the books, Cookson said.

The new residency requirement happened quickly last spring, he said. There wasn’t much time to train employees or alert the public. “It was a little bumpy in that first couple of weeks,” Cookson said.

This time around, staff has been trained, he said. Pamphlets answering questions are at the ready.

Documents that can be used to prove people are in the U.S. legally include: a certified birth certificate (available at the town office or city hall in the municipality where you were born, sometimes for a fee); a U.S. passport; certificate of U.S. Citizenship; a Temporary or Permanent Resident Card; and a Refugee Travel Document.

“There have been some instances where people (had trouble) proving their residency and I’m sure similar situations will likely unfold as they try to prove their legal status,” Cookson said.

Proof of being in the U.S. legally only needs to be presented to the BMV once; after that the information will stay in the computer. Proof of residency, shown through things like tax returns and pay stubs, is only needed once unless a person’s physical address changes.

Since neither can be proven by computer, Cookson said the ability to renew licenses online is being suspended for now. It won’t be brought back “until we have a solid base of consumers.”

BMV branch offices process an average 210,000 to 220,000 drivers licenses and IDs a year. That’s about 4,000 a week. He said a significant number had been done online.

“We will be taking a close look at how things unfold on Monday and looking for potential issues to pop up,” Cookson said.

There won’t be extra staff on hand to take questions. There wasn’t money in the budget.

People coming in for a license renewal who are not aware of the new requirement may be issued 30 or 60 day temporary credentials, he added.

Last spring, the Maine Civil Liberties Union had lobbied against Maine taking steps toward Real ID compliance and hasn’t softened its position.

“We are extraordinarily concerned about these regulations,” Executive Director Shenna Bellows said Friday. “They violate Mainer’s privacy, and in the current economic environment, to make Mainers jump through hoops to get a license to drive to their jobs is unwise. It makes us less free without making us any safer.”

An official at the Lewiston BMV branch said workers had received training on how to enter the new information into the computer and hung signs in the lobby. There were also handouts.

Whether to expect lines or confusion come Monday depends on the public, he said.

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