Real ID requirements in effect today

[lanejudy]

Best I can tell New York and Pennsylvania are the only states that charge more for a Real ID.

I wasn’t asking about Real ID; I asked about Enhanced Drivers License fee. It’s only available in 5(?) states. In my state it costs more than a regular drivers license or a Real ID compliant license. The PP had commented he thought New Yorkers should have just gotten EDLs — but it costs more so it doesn’t surprise me people don’t get it unless they have expectations to drive across the border.

 

[cayennews]

I'm glad I saw this. My husband needs to get on this. He never got his.

 

[bcla]

As mentioned above, the extra $30 is for the Enhanced DL. May be confusing, but there are 3 general types of licenses available in NY. (Not counting commercial, taxi, or other special class licenses.)


Not sure where you’re getting these numbers. Per the NYS DMV website, the fee for a standard or Real ID DL is $64.50. Then, for those of us in the NYC metro area (boroughs of the city and surrounding counties), there’s an additional commuter surcharge of $16 (total cost $80.50). There are also non-driver ID cards (standard and Real ID compliant) with varying fees that range from $6.50 to $14.00, depending on your age, and free for seniors who receive SSI, and anyone on public assistance.

That said, I have no idea what other states charge for a driver’s license, although it wouldn’t surprise me if NYS was more expensive.

I read it wrong. It's dependent on age. I can't seem to find the document I saw, but I think it was a PDF application with a fee schedule at the bottom. Can't seem to paste the formatted table, but the highest fee is for 17 to 17-1/2

https://dmv.ny.gov/driver-license/fees-refunds

In California a Class C driver license is $45 and valid for about 5 years. No enhanced option, and the only option is standard or Real ID where the star is in the middle of an outline of a bear.

 

[ncc1701]

We live in NJ which has been slow rolling it out. We got ours last summer. DH 's license was expiring so he signed up to get Real ID. I made an appointment to get mine converted the same day. Hopefully it will be easy to renew, but I do have a valid passport.

 

[ncc1701]

Double post

 

[bcla]

I wasn’t asking about Real ID; I asked about Enhanced Drivers License fee. It’s only available in 5(?) states. In my state it costs more than a regular drivers license or a Real ID compliant license. The PP had commented he thought New Yorkers should have just gotten EDLs — but it costs more so it doesn’t surprise me people don’t get it unless they have expectations to drive across the border.

At that cost, just get a passport card. It's valid for 10 years and I think most people who have one already have a passport. I frankly hate carrying around a passport as it's bulky. I want something I can store in my wallet.

I used to think maybe it would be cool to collect as many IDs as possible, but I'm thinking the EDL/EID is something that probably won't be of much benefit to me.

 

[bcla]

I read it wrong. It's dependent on age. I can't seem to find the document I saw, but I think it was a PDF application with a fee schedule at the bottom. Can't seem to paste the formatted table, but the highest fee is for 17 to 17-1/2

https://dmv.ny.gov/driver-license/fees-refunds

Found the source, which is the how to guide on how to apply for a DL/ID or learner's permit. It does say that a (standard operator) Class D license maxes out at $98.50. But it's not specific that the exact amount is age dependent.

https://dmv.ny.gov/forms/id44.pdf

TRANSACTION TYPE All fees are approximate. An exact fee cannot be determined until your document is issued.	Total will not be more than
Learner Permit (Class DJ/D or MJ/M)	$ 136.00
License (Class D or M)	$ 98.50
License (CDL or Class E)	$ 180.50
Non-Driver ID Card	$ 13.00
Non-Driver ID Card [Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Recipient]	$ 6.50
Upgrade to a Higher License (CDL or Class E)	$ 153.00*
Replacement License/Permit	$ 17.50
Replacement Non-Driver ID Card	$ 8.00
Replacement Non-Driver ID Card [Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Recipient]	$ 6.50
Amend License/Permit	$ 17.50
Amend Non-Driver ID Card	$ 5.00
NOTE: Add $30 for Enhanced document transactions except Replacement documents. *Additional Written and Road Test fees may apply.

 

[Dug720]

Ours expired during COVID, mailed in the application.

This was my issue. When mine expired during COVID I was not given the option to do Real/Enhanced by mail. I've just been using my passport and figured I would until my license expired. But when I realized that my passport expires in 2027 and my license in 2028, I just know with my luck that I'd have to fly while the passport was out for renewal. So I went in...March? I think March...and got mine upgraded to Real ID.

 

[_19disnA]

Regardless of when the deadline is there will always be people who procrastinate, say they didn't know, etc. I don't have a lot of sympathy for those who waited and simply didn't bother to get one. Likely some people thought the requirement would never go into effect. Articles I saw indicate they were still letting people fly without having a Real ID but doing extra screening. They were apparently handing out information at some airports saying the NEXT time you fly, you need to have your Real ID.

 

[kdonnel]

It’s crazy how some states became compliant so much latter than others.

The first round of compliant states were December 20, 2012. The last of the 50 states was Oklahoma on September 10, 2020.

I had to renew my license this year and my eight year old one was already Real ID compliant so the renewal was clicking a few buttons on a web page and waiting for my license to arrive in the mail.

The original implementation date of the law was to be May 11th 2008.

Edit:
How long was it delayed?

From and including: Sunday, May 11, 2008
To and including: Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Result: 6206 days​

It is 6206 days from the start date to the end date, end date included.
Or 16 years, 11 months, 27 days including the end date.
Or 203 months, 27 days including the end date.

 

[AppleDumpling]

Found the source, which is the how to guide on how to apply for a DL/ID or learner's permit. It does say that a (standard operator) Class D license maxes out at $98.50. But it's not specific that the exact amount is age dependent.

LOL, the DMV can be complicated. To clarify, the higher fees apply to young drivers under 18. Like other states, there’s a graduated driver’s license law, with special rules, restrictions, and conditions for 16 and 17 year old drivers, to get a learner’s permit, junior license, or full license. (Minimum age for a full unrestricted license is 17, and stricter rules apply in NYC and Long Island.)

I was referring to renewals for a basic class D license, which is what most people get. Again, it’s $64.50 for 8 years in most of the state. (If you live within commuting distance of New York City, you get hit with the extra $16 surcharge.)

 

[EACarlson]

At that cost, just get a passport card. It's valid for 10 years and I think most people who have one already have a passport. I frankly hate carrying around a passport as it's bulky. I want something I can store in my wallet.

I used to think maybe it would be cool to collect as many IDs as possible, but I'm thinking the EDL/EID is something that probably won't be of much benefit to me.

This is incorrect. The use case for enhanced IDs is for those people that live near the border and may want to drive over occasionally. Less than half of US citizens have a passport and if you live in one of the five states that offers an EDL, why wouldn't you do that rather than get a passport you're not going to use for anything else. In MN, it's an additional $15 for an EDL, compared to spending $160 for a passport and card.

To me, this should be a non-issue. I obtained my Real ID compliant DL in 2017, my wife got hers as a MN EDL in 2014. I now have 4 Real ID compliant IDs. It's been law for well over 15 years.

 

[_19disnA]

My impression was that some states took longer to be compliant due to various internal IT issues. Some other states just seemed slow to implement. Covid was one of the reasons the deadline was pushed back which made sense at that time.

 

[firefly_ris]

If more people just got the enhanced license in NY in the first place, this wouldn't have been a big issue in the first place.

I'm in Buffalo and got the Enhanced License years ago. Then I didn't have to take a passport to the border (which I also have but just 1 less thing to carry around). Most people I know around me do too. I assume downstate people were less inclined.

 

[robinb]

This Real ID nonsense has caused me to swap Disneyland for WDW this year...

If you’re resisting getting a Real ID, you’re fighting a losing battle.

 

[Moliphino]

I got my first RealID in 2019, renewed it online last year (5 year license validity in MA). It was super easy, we have DMV services at AAA offices and I was in and out with no real wait. I also have a passport that's good for another year and a half.

 

[LuvOrlando]

We all got ours in PA when they all came due during quarantine a few years back and although it cost a little more I am glad we did it, to me the Passport is such an important document I'd rather it be kept safe for important things. When we moved to Mass I think we needed to reprove who we were but that really wasn't such a big deal, still less annoying and less expensive than replacing a passport.

 

[Kae]

Sad that some states charge so much for a DL to begin with in IN we pay around 20 bucks for 4 years. My kids got real IDs when they got their first DLs it was automatic for them. For DH it was easy, just SS card & proof of address. For me, I had to bring marriage license too.

 

[jimmymc]

It's been very interesting to see the state rollouts. When I renewed my Michigan license by mail in 2020, I got a Real ID by default. Maybe this happened automatically because I already had a Nexus card, but I don't know.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

My impression was that some states took longer to be compliant due to various internal IT issues. Some other states just seemed slow to implement. Covid was one of the reasons the deadline was pushed back which made sense at that time.

There were multiple states that did not want to comply with the REAL ID requirements some going so far as to make it illegal in their states; it was tied to the information that REAL ID collects. The states that took the longest were those in general.

Missouri for example was one of those where it was written into law in 2009 they would not allow REAL IDs (in 2017 they repealed that) and only started issuing in 2019 and was only compliant as of then. Meanwhile in my state next to Missouri the REAL ID has been issued since 2017 and compliant since 2013 as far as internal information collected. It was mentioned towards the end of April that only 46% of Missourians had a REAL ID though that has also caused a slew of people going to their respective DMVs causing long lines. In my state they have mentioned the several hundred thousand who have actively chosen to not get a REAL ID.