Long waits, no appointments: How DMVs across the country are prepping for Real ID deadline
After years of delays, the final, very real deadline to have a Real ID while flying in the U.S. is right around the corner, and some states are in a scramble to make sure everyone has a compliant ID.
Real ID, a standard for travel identification first passed by Congress in 2005, will be a requirement to fly domestically starting May 7, after multiple delays from the original deadline in 2020. Anyone who wants to get on a plane will need either a Real ID or another compliant document like a passport starting that date, or risk facing delays or refusal to board altogether.
Though Real IDs have been available in most states for several years, travelers could still use standard driver's licenses or state ID cards to fly within the country until now. The Department of Homeland Security estimated that by May 2025, somewhere between 61% and 66% of ID-holders would have Real IDs.
The good news is that in some states like Florida, most people with licenses already have Real IDs because anyone who got a new license or renewed their license there since 2010 has gotten the Real ID. Of all Marylanders with state IDs, 99% have Read ID.
But in many states, the Real ID rollout has been optional, with some choosing a standard license, which might require fewer documents or a lower fee. They will now need to upgrade if they plan to travel by air domestically. Now that the deadline is creeping up, there's a last-minute scramble overwhelming some Department of Motor Vehicle offices. In some states, DMVs have added special Real ID-only appointments to satisfy demand and in others, appointments are hard to come by altogether.
Anticipating a surge of customers looking for Real IDs, several states have extended their DMV hours or set aside special appointment times for the final push before the deadline.
The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles started offering walk-in appointments for Real ID-seekers at all its locations, the agency said in an announcement. As of April 8, about 57% of IDs in the state were Real IDs, the USA TODAY Network in New England reported.
Oklahoma and California have both extended DMV hours at some locations to serve Real ID customers. Eighteen California locations will open an hour early at 7 a.m. through June 27 on every day of the week except Wednesdays, reported the Victorville Daily Press. In Oklahoma, some of the state's ID centers located in busy metro areas will stay open until 8 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays for the rest of the year for Real IDs, according to the Oklahoman.
In Pennsylvania, DMVs around the state are hosting "Real ID Days" on Mondays when the locations are otherwise closed so they can see Real ID customers exclusively. Some of the locations can even process applications and issue the IDs at the time of service; at others, Pennsylvanians will submit their documents and wait for the ID to come in the mail. The next Real ID Day is April 28.
Illinois set up a Real ID-only walk-in "supercenter" in Chicago to handle the demand for appointments. Montgomery and Rensselaer counties in New York restricted their DMVs to county residents only to deal with the demand, while locations are usually open to residents across the state, News 10 in Albany reported.
Residents in New Jersey have become frustrated by a lack of available appointments at New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission locations, according to NorthJersey.com, a part of the USA TODAY Network. As the May 7 deadline approaches, appointments are nowhere to be found. The afternoon of April 15, there weren't any Real ID appointments at any locations statewide, the outlet reported.
The demand for Real IDs remains extraordinarily high, authorities in New Jersey said. About 3,500 new appointments for Real ID upgrades are added each morning on a rolling basis, said Jim Hooker, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. Every Thursday, for the "Real ID Thursday" program, about 4,600 additional appointments for will be added as they roll over on the scheduler, said Hooker. Since the start of the program, "Real ID Thursday" has added over 43,000 appointments.
More: DMV wait times are often long. Are appointment resellers making them worse?
"Why is it so difficult to get an appointment?" reads a banner on the Illinois Secretary of State website. The answer: a rush on Real ID appointments. Because of the deadline, "our facilities and website have been overwhelmed with requests for Real IDs," the site said, urging people to check whether they need a Real ID right away or whether they can hold off until the surge passes.
Long lines that wrap around blocks and hourslong waits have been reported at DMVs from Illinois to Tennessee to Pennsylvania, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In Florida, the tax collector's office in Florida's Miami-Dade County announced in March, weeks before the deadline, that it 'uncovered a network of appointment' resellers booking hundreds of DMV appointments before turning them around to unsuspecting residents for a cost.
Real ID cards look slightly different depending on what state you're in, but they all have some variation of the same star symbol stamped on the top portion of the card, usually in one of the corners.
The symbols are either a gold or black star shape, a gold or black circle with a star inside or in the case of California, a bear with a star.
Contributing: Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY: NorthJersey.com; USA TODAY Network-Florida; The Oklahoman; USA TODAY Network-New England; the Victorville Daily Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Real ID deadline approaches as DMVs struggle to keep up with demand
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