Was supposed to be required May 3, 2023. Now will be required May 7, 2025.
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I guess good. I need to get my license renewed anyway after the new year. I’m hoping all I need is my passport, current DL, some mail I’ve received…and my marriage license to verify my name change (even though that’s on my passport).
I remember vividly that one of my last appointments before the Covid shutdown occurred in California was going to the DMV to get my Real ID driver’s license. In fact, I think I got home after the appointment and saw that there was going to be a two-week shutdown. That was Spring 2020.
I finally did get the Real ID driver’s license, but it’s been pushed back so many times as a travel ID requirement.
Same! It was one of the very last things I did before Covid shutdown. My husband doesn’t have a real ID as he had to renew when the office wasn’t open.
At this rate, the law will be irrelevant by the time we have to comply.
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And oddly…I did not know this was pushed back. I’ve been using my passport for over a year when I fly.
Thumper, you should be fine. I don’t think you’ll need a marriage license if your married name is on your passport.
Even though a Real ID is not required for federal travel, some states have required it for years. When we got our Florida driver’s licenses in 2012, the documentation was already required (passport, 2 pieces of mail and that was it). My brother has to renew his Colorado state ID and has to go into a DMV with the ‘real id’ documents. Colorado does have a non-Real ID option for non-documented individuals and not sure what documentation is needed for that.
I think it is time to stop extending the enactment date. If they don’t want to implement it, change the law. This has been going on since 2005, and most of the states have been able to get it done, many more than 15 years ago.
Interesting as I noted when we flew a couple of weeks ago that TSA asked to see our Real ID. I thought it was interesting that they specifically said that.
I intended to get my Real ID when my driver’s license renewed, but COVID happened and I renewed online. I finally upgraded to Real ID earlier this fall because of the May 2023 deadline. Glad to get it out of the way.
I had to renew my driver’s license this year. Could do it online, but it wouldn’t be a Real ID. I have Global Entry, which also qualifies – and is card sized so easy enough to carry on domestic travel. But truth be told, I really like my current driver’s license picture so I’m going to milk it as long as I can 
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I feel exactly the same way 
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Are we the only ones not planning on getting a Real ID? We have our passports and always use them for travel, even domestically. Real IDs cost more and require more paperwork (so I’m told). I don’t see any value to them as long as we have our passports - and I never plan to let our passports expire, so…
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It is true other documents can be used in lieu of Real ID, but I had no problem with the required paperwork. Birth certificate, social security card, current driver’s license, and two utility bills.
In PA it also costs more money and I thought I needed my marriage certificate back when I read about it (a few years ago). I’m not totally sure I know where my birth certificate is, but it must be around somewhere as I’m sure I needed it to get my passport a few decades ago.
I know exactly where my passport is. We tend to travel spontaneously, so it’s always at hand.
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You are correct. A marriage certificate is needed if your last name changed as a result of marriage. Also the utility bills must be in your name. I used my cell phone bill and my voter registration card.
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You may not have a choice. I didn’t in Florida. Only one type of license, Real ID, and they all cost the same.
As I said, all I needed was a passport and 2 items that said that was my home (letter, lease, mortgage, insurance card…) In Colorado I wasn’t asked if I wanted a Real ID or not, that’s just want they gave me. I know they do issue non-citizen licenses, but I bet they cost the same (or more).
In California I had to get a REAL ID license and they had a new system (that never worked right). I had to show a passport but they were okay that it was expired. It took 13 weeks for them to send the license. Then I moved. Then they decided to issue non-citizen licenses and got another new system and I have no idea if that one is easier or harder or more expensive.
I had a federal ID to get into federal buildings, but otherwise had to show an Real ID or a passport. I didn’t want to always pull out a passport.
The only DL photo that I liked was the first one I got in Israel. They had just started with plastic DLs with photos (rather than a piece of paper), so they had not yet perfected the art of getting the worst possible photo of you for your DL. I had long hair and my beard was decently long, so I looked like a refugee from the late 1960s (this was the 1990s).
If they change it here to have no choice, then so be it, but they’d best accept a passport as proof I’m a US citizen. Most of my bills I pay online and I honestly don’t know if they’re in my name or H’s. My kids still get mail here and my youngest just received mail at my oldest’s house this past week even though he’s only visited it once.
Mail certainly isn’t reliable IMO.
PA knows I’ve lived here for over 2 decades (at the same address). They’ve taxed me here, I’ve voted in every single election here, and my teacher retirement lists me at this address. Then too, I have my passport and current driver’s license which has also been at this address since we moved here.
I’m not exactly sure why I’d need to provide any more proof than they already have, and I REALLY don’t know where my marriage certificate is…
Maybe folks having trouble coming up with all the dumb requirements is why it keeps getting pushed off TBH.
I have no qualms at all using a passport.
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They just need two items to show it is your address. You can mail yourself a letter and that works. Or all those other things you have, like your tax letter. I don’t know if they’ll accept the old DL. In Florida I think I used my lease and maybe an insurance card. I don’t remember if I got much first class mail in those days.
When I got my new Colo license, the guy at the front door demanded the two letters. I went out to the glove compartment of my car and found a few things, one being an invoice for car repairs. Oh, he didn’t like that as it was OLD. Well yes, I’ve lived there for a while. Once I got past him, it was a breeze. The guy at the computer asked if I’d had a Colo license in the past. Yes, many, first one at 17 and several times in and out of the state since. Okay…is everything the same? NO, I’m giving you a FL license because I’m moving back to the state! I have a new address and here are my two pieces of mail to show the new address. He didn’t much care about those. He would have been happy to renew my old (very expired) license from years before.
It just isn’t that big a deal, but you can’t renew by mail. And have those 2 letters that are fairly current! I bet your car insurance has your address on it.
I renewed my license online when the PA DMV was closed during the lockdowns. So happy because I liked my picture and saved me a trip. I’ll wait as long as possible before applying for a REAL ID. I have a global entry card, passport card and a passport that all work for air travel. Given that the REAL ID law was passed in 2005 and it still isn’t fully implemented it makes me question if it’s really accomplished what the law intended.
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Me too - first week in March 2020 my coworkers & I all went together because we all travel for work. There were 9 of us.
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