CNN
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New Jersey woman Lauren Mills is one of many Americans scrambling to get an updated driver’s license over the next 30 days to make sure she’s still able to fly domestically after new federal rules go into effect on May 7.
That’s the date that the Department of Homeland Security is set to enforce the deadline for “REAL ID” after years of pushing it back. The REAL ID Act, which was passed by Congress in 2005, enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the federal government enhance security standards for identification.
“REAL ID state-issued identification cards significantly strengthen identity verification, which is a lynchpin in transportation security,” said a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration, the DHS aviation security agency whose officers check passengers’ identification at US airport checkpoints.
Those ID checks have many would-be travelers worried.
“What’s happening now — and I kind of liken it to the toilet paper of the pandemic — I think everyone’s panicking so everyone wants to get an appointment. And there’s literally none,” said Mills, referring to the appointments New Jersey’s licensing centers are using to process the new IDs.
Mills, who lives in Boonton, said she had been monitoring the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJMVC) website for about a week for available REAL ID appointments with no luck. But minutes later, while she was still on a call with CNN, eight REAL ID appointments — the first she said she’d seen — popped up on the NJMVC site in towns in other parts of the state. They were snapped up in the next few minutes like sought-after concert tickets, she said.
The REAL ID rollout, which varies from state to state, has many residents confused about who needs a REAL ID, what’s required to get one and how quickly they’ll be able to get a new ID now that the looming deadline has ramped up demand from people rushing to meet it before they travel.
While residents who don’t have REAL IDs will still be able to drive using current non-compliant licenses and use that identification in other scenarios, REAL IDs will become essential for boarding flights for travelers who don’t have a valid passport, passport card or other approved identification.
While the race to meet the May 7 date is very much on, the final rule published in January allows for “necessary flexibility, using a phased approach” to starting enforcement that accounts for “security, operational risk and public impact,” the TSA said.
But the agency noted that the rule does not extend the REAL ID deadline. To avoid delays at airport security checkpoints, all air travelers aged 18 and older are urged to secure proper identification by May 7, 2025.
Surging demand as the clock ticks down
For years, US drivers have had the opportunity to reup their licenses for REAL IDs, although implementation timelines have varied from state to state.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation secretary Michael Carroll estimates that Pennsylvanians have had about six years since the rules began being implemented.
“Of course, human nature, everybody waits til the last minute,” Carroll said. “The May 7 deadline from Homeland Security seems like a certainty at this point, and I think that the public has grasped that reality.”
He said approximately 26% of Pennsylvanians have gotten a REAL ID. Wait times at DMVs in Pennsylvania are currently at about an hour, according to Carroll, “significantly more than wait times” before REAL ID.
In Pennsylvania, like other states that are opening DMVs more frequently, driver’s license centers are opening on Mondays — when the DMV is usually closed — in order to try to get more drivers their REAL ID. Of course, Carroll said drivers can still go any time after May 7 to get their REAL ID, but the identification is pertinent should they need to travel by air directly after May 7.
For Mills, who lives in neighboring New Jersey, the fear of unexpectedly needing to get on a flight is driving her desire to quickly secure a new ID. She has a passport, but it’s expired. She was quick to admit that she has put off getting her updated identification for too long.
The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission has pushed to add new REAL ID appointments over the last few months through efforts such as dedicating Thursdays to processing the new IDs and upcoming mobile unit appointments aimed at reaching more ID seekers. NJMVC said it adds approximately 3,500 new appointments each morning to its system.
“Across the country, not only here in New Jersey, the demand for REAL ID is extraordinarily high ahead of the start of federal enforcement in May,” said William Connolly, a spokesperson for NJMVC.
He urged customers who can’t make appointments they’ve scheduled for REAL IDs to be sure and cancel them so that those sought-after slots are available to other customers.
Some people may have it and not know
In some states, REAL IDs were issued, and drivers may not know.
For example, all permanent licenses issued in Georgia after 2012 are REAL ID compliant, according to the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS). But some Georgians are confused by a redesign of the stars on the corners of REAL IDs issued by the department.
“As the implementation date of May 7, 2025 nears, DDS is seeing customers who are already REAL ID compliant visiting our centers. Either a gold or black star on a Georgia license or ID will be accepted, and the color only changed due to a card design change within DDS,” said DDS Commissioner Spencer R. Moore in a March news release aimed at clarifying compliance.
In some states, there’s uncertainty about which licenses will allow you to fly.
As of March 31, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission had issued more than 8 million IDs that meet the requirements for the REAL ID Act of 2005. However, more than 6 million of those licenses are labeled as “Not for REAL ID purposes,” so while they meet the law’s requirements, they are not useable for domestic flights.
Across states, compliant IDs will have a marking at the top of the card, typically a gold or black star.
The documentation required by each state also varies, and ID seekers discussing the REAL ID process online have commented on hurdles for people who have had name changes or other inconsistencies in their documentation.
The TSA outlined basic requirements — documentation showing “full legal name, date of birth, social security number, two proofs of address for their principal residence and proof of their lawful status” — but noted that states may have additional requirements. The agency advises checking with state DMVs for guidance on requirements before visiting those facilities in person.
In addition to serving as acceptable identification to board flights in the United States, REAL IDs will also be required to access federal facilities where identification is required.
Many members of the flying public, including Mills, are rushing to prepare for what’s to come. Mills said she’s doesn’t have immediate plans to fly but worries about what might come up.
“My biggest concern is, what if I have to get on a plane for something?”
