Real ID requirements in effect today

[Kae]

In NJ we always had long waits and lines, and the dmv pretty much **** down for a year for COVID. It has NEVER been even remotely easy to get it in NJ where it took me an entire year to get an appointment for my regular license removed in 2021).

That's terrible. It's sad that in some states you have to go through hoops to get a License and some states the costs are crazy too.

 

[Skippy918]

In NJ we always had long waits and lines, and the dmv pretty much **** down for a year for COVID. It has NEVER been even remotely easy to get it in NJ where it took me an entire year to get an appointment for my regular license removed in 2021).

Texas has had long waits as well. I took my son for his permit last year and had to book his appt in December for May. It’s not uncommon to wait months for an appointment if you move here. Can’t really do walk in anywhere unless you go to a small town.

 

[bcla]

All the guides I see on how to spot them say to look for the word.

As far as requiring the same documentation I'd have to look up the 5 states that have them and if there are differing documentation requirements but for the point of the conversation that does not matter. It's not about not understanding what the person has to provide to obtain an enhanced DL/ID, it was about a rebuttal to "What drives me crazy are the reports that state that an Enhanced ID is not a Real ID."

The big difference is that Enhanced is only available to US nationals, while Real ID is available to anyone who can demonstrate legal status in the United States. International students, people on work visas, permanent residents, refugees, etc. can get a Real ID driver license or ID. That's the complaint in Washington state besides their rather high Enhanced fee ($16 a year). That's leaving out a lot of residents in a state with a lot of noncitizens (more than 15% of the population).

 

[mjkacmom]

Texas has had long waits as well. I took my son for his permit last year and had to book his appt in December for May. It’s not uncommon to wait months for an appointment if you move here. Can’t really do walk in anywhere unless you go to a small town.

I just checked online and it looks like there are appointments available starting the second week in august at some places here.

 

[lanejudy]

All the guides I see on how to spot them say to look for the word.


The big difference is that Enhanced is only available to US nationals, while Real ID is available to anyone who can demonstrate legal status in the United States. International students, people on work visas, permanent residents, refugees, etc. can get a Real ID driver license or ID. That's the complaint in Washington state besides their rather high Enhanced fee ($16 a year). That's leaving out a lot of residents in a state with a lot of noncitizens (more than 15% of the population).

The Enhanced Driver’s License is essentially a passport+DL. Why would any of those other groups expect to qualify? They should already have a passport from their home country.

 

[Buzz Rules]

The Enhanced Driver’s License is essentially a passport+DL. Why would any of those other groups expect to qualify? They should already have a passport from their home country.

This.

 

[EACarlson]

The Enhanced Driver’s License is essentially a passport+DL. Why would any of those other groups expect to qualify? They should already have a passport from their home country.

The complaint is that WA does not issue a Real ID compliant document that is not an enhanced DL or ID. So all of those groups have no way to get a compliant document.

 

[lanejudy]

The complaint is that WA does not issue a Real ID compliant document that is not an enhanced DL or ID. So all of those groups have no way to get a compliant document.

Except they can travel domestic US with their passport from their home country, right? Shouldn’t they have that with them anyway?

 

[EACarlson]

Except they can travel domestic US with their passport from their home country, right? Shouldn’t they have that with them anyway?

Green card holders are supposed to have their home country passports on them at all times? I've never heard that. Same with any legal residency. Refugees, many of them don't have a passport from their home country to bring. While I believe WA is within their rights to do so, I think they've made a mistake in not offering a REAL ID other than the Enhanced.

 

[bcla]

The Enhanced Driver’s License is essentially a passport+DL. Why would any of those other groups expect to qualify? They should already have a passport from their home country.

Because in every state with Real ID they would qualify for a Real ID driver license or non-DL ID. Not everyone has a valid passport. Often a refugee can't obtain a passport from the home country. And passports are a pain to handle and considerably more expensive. If they get wet, depending on what happens they can be considered damaged and thus invalid. I've gotten my driver license wet and all I needed to do was wipe it with a towel.

Why is it that taxpaying members of society can't obtain a driver license or ID from their state that they can use as ID for domestic travel? The same argument that they should just have a passport could be applied to US citizens. Why can't US citizens just get a passport if they want to fly or get into federal facilities?

Enhanced ID/DL was really meant for crossing the border and not to replace Real ID.

 

[bcla]

Green card holders are supposed to have their home country passports on them at all times? I've never heard that. Same with any legal residency. Refugees, many of them don't have a passport from their home country to bring. While I believe WA is within their rights to do so, I think they've made a mistake in not offering a REAL ID other than the Enhanced.

Adult permanent residents are supposed to have their green cards available at all times and that is always listed as a valid ID for Real ID compliant purposes. But obviously there are practical considerations like going swimming. And my understanding is that enforcement is rare.

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg...3-title8-chap12-subchapII-partVII-sec1304.pdf​

(e) Personal possession of registration or receipt card; penalties​

​

Every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him pursuant to subsection (d). Any alien who fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction for each offense be fined not to exceed $100 or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both.​

I actually know someone living in Washington state who was an H-1B holder. I'm pretty sure he had a Washington driver license although I'm not sure if he kept a valid passport at all times. There would be for leaving the United States and returning. As far as I can tell, there's no legal requirement to have a valid passport when in the United States. He used his driver license at airports and for visits to federal offices (like USCIS). He's a permanent resident now, so he could use his green card.

But yeah - I don't see the rationale for asserting that somehow this is fair to noncitizens living in Washington state. Why is it that they won't do something that almost every other state has done, while couching it by saying Enhanced is an option when it's way more expensive and unavailable to more than 15% of their population?

 

[kanne323]

Here in NJ I know people driving hours to appointments they made months ago that they were lucky to snag in the wee hours of the morning. We aren’t talking about wanting to stay local, that’s probably not going to happen. Heck my kids had to take their drivers exam 45 minutes away because the MVC 20 minutes away had no availability for months, and this was when it was better in 2020 before COVID . I guess if you don’t live here, you don’t get it.

I can echo this. I lived in NJ for many years before moving a few years ago. We didn't have REAL ID even offered until 2019. I can't remember what year my license was going to expire, but it wasn't 2019, so there was no way for me to get REAL ID before the pandemic. I did have to deal with the MVC during the first two years of the pandemic and it was a nightmare. The Springfield location was already making people line up outside and admitting only 30 people in prior to the pandemic- I can't even count up how many hours I spent waiting in that outside line pre-2019 over the years. And then during the pandemic, it was a process to just drop off license plates. I have a passport, so getting REAL ID was not my priority at any point (and I could make an appointment for registration but I couldn't do licensing at the same time, it would have required multiple appointments.)

I don't have a realID compliant license yet. I was not psyched about paying for it this year and then having to pay to renew my license next year. I flew yesterday and my passport worked just fine to get me thru security. They also told me that they'll accept passports that expired within two years of the day of your flight, but that won't be permanent and the agent didn't know when they'd stop accepting expired passports.

ETA: Maine didn't start issuing realID until July 2019, and you aren't required to get it when you renew your license. I tried to make an appointment in February and there wasn't anything available until August, which is when I decided the heck with it and to use my passport. When I renew my license next summer, I'll get the realID, just because it's easier than lugging around my passport.

I now live in Maine and am one without REAL ID. The BMV is a much more pleasant experience, though same long waits for appointments and locations are spread out more. When I moved here, the cost of a REAL ID was more than a regular license, and same for changing an address on a ME license- it's still significantly more to do with a REAL ID. I knew that I would be moving again within the state fairly soon (moved here during a housing crisis to the area growing the fastest and had to settle for a winter rental.) So I made an economical choice to pay the lower price to get a regular license and change my address a few months later. Because I have a passport, I'm in no rush to get a REAL ID and will do so when my license expires or when things calm down and it's easier to get into the BMV.

I will say, while I'm happy to be home after a long time away, NJ had two car-related positives over New England- no car excise tax and I never to pump my gas!

 

[lanejudy]

Because in every state with Real ID they would qualify for a Real ID driver license or non-DL ID. Not everyone has a valid passport. Often a refugee can't obtain a passport from the home country. And passports are a pain to handle and considerably more expensive. If they get wet, depending on what happens they can be considered damaged and thus invalid. I've gotten my driver license wet and all I needed to do was wipe it with a towel.

Why is it that taxpaying members of society can't obtain a driver license or ID from their state that they can use as ID for domestic travel? The same argument that they should just have a passport could be applied to US citizens. Why can't US citizens just get a passport if they want to fly or get into federal facilities?

Enhanced ID/DL was really meant for crossing the border and not to replace Real ID.

I don’t necessarily disagree — in fact, why do any of us need to go through the process of getting Real ID? Why can’t the state DL/ID work like it has for so many years until now? (I know the reasons stated by gov’t.).

My comment was with regard to Enhanced DL and I didn’t realize WA doesn’t continue to offer a non-Real ID license. Anyone know their logic for that? Google says both versions are available.

 

[EACarlson]

My comment was with regard to Enhanced DL and I didn’t realize WA doesn’t continue to offer a non-Real ID license. Anyone know their logic for that? Google says both versions are available.

WA does offer a non REAL ID DL. What they don't offer is a REAL ID DL that is not an Enhanced DL. That limits the the demographics that can get a REAL ID in WA to only US citizens. In the other four states that offer it, there are three different options, non REAL ID, Real ID and Enhanced ID.

 

[bcla]

I don’t necessarily disagree — in fact, why do any of us need to go through the process of getting Real ID? Why can’t the state DL/ID work like it has for so many years until now? (I know the reasons stated by gov’t.).

My comment was with regard to Enhanced DL and I didn’t realize WA doesn’t continue to offer a non-Real ID license. Anyone know their logic for that? Google says both versions are available.

My comment was premised on Washington state officials insisting that Enhanced DL/ID was the way around them not offering Real ID per se. And they do offer a non Real ID DL/ID. These are the images for a 21+ WA driver license.

The other issue is that someone who isn't a US citizen who has a Washington driver license will have that ID that says "FEDERAL LIMITS APPLY". Although it's not supposed to imply anything about legal status, I'm almost sure that some who see such an ID will see it that way and treat people differently. Perhaps suspiciously. But that's a specific problem with having such a system.