The quest to get REAL IDs before this week's deadline ends in frustration for many drivers
When Scott Case realized the REAL ID deadline was coming up this week, he decided to head to his local department of motor vehicles Monday morning.
'I've known about it and I've been putting it off, so some of it's on me,' the frequent business traveler from Collingswood, New Jersey, acknowledged to CNN.
But during the frenzied final weeks before the federal government starts enforcing REAL ID regulations this Wednesday, Case and others are learning that getting one at the last minute is a big challenge.
'I feel bad for anybody who doesn't have a passport,' said Case as he left without securing an ID.
Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005 as a way to enhance security for identification, requiring new minimum standards for state-issued driver's licenses and IDs. While people without REAL IDs will still be able to drive using current non-compliant licenses and use that identification in other scenarios, REAL IDs will be required for domestic air travel for those without a valid passport or other approved identification.
After years of pushing the deadline for Americans to get a REAL ID, the Department of Homeland Security says it will finally start enforcement May 7.
From Illinois and Washington to Florida and Alabama, Americans across the country are encountering long lines as they scramble to get their REAL IDs before Wednesday.
'It's not gonna happen,' said driver Toe Cooper, from Burlington Township, New Jersey.
At the Motor Vehicle Commission – New Jersey's version of the Department of Motor Vehicles – in Camden, customers packed the small building trying to get a REAL ID.
Cooper tried to walk in to get his Monday because he couldn't get an appointment online.
'I've been on there every night looking. There's nothing on there,' explained Cooper.
'You can get an appointment for anything else, but for REAL ID it said nothing is available,' he added.
In a statement, the state's Motor Vehicle Commission said it has been 'working non-stop to help as many eligible New Jerseyans as possible' obtain a REAL ID.
'Demand is very high right now,' acknowledged commission spokesperson William Connolly.
'And our challenges are not unique to New Jersey – every state in the nation is facing similar pressures as enforcement approaches,' Connolly noted.
The commission said the state is issuing roughly 25,000 REAL IDs per week with 'thousands of new appointments for REAL IDs opening up on our scheduler each morning on a rolling basis.'
New Jersey also has 'dedicated REAL ID days' offering thousands of additional appointments and an expanded mobile unit program for driver services, including the new IDs, he said.
Cooper couldn't get a REAL ID without an appointment, but even for those with appointments, frustration was not always avoidable.
Bruce Beegal, from Brigantine, New Jersey, came to the office with his daughter to get her REAL ID on Monday. But at their appointment they were told they were missing one extra form of identification, and they couldn't complete the process.
'This is a joke,' said Beegal. 'What's going on here, it's terrible.'
Beegal's daughter has a passport, so he's not worried about her boarding a plane, but he said he couldn't believe he might have to do this process again after the REAL ID enforcement deadline passes.
'It sucks,' he said.
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