STAR ID enforcement date leads to long waits, frustration at Decatur ALEA office

Yahoo

03-05-2025

May 3—With REAL ID enforcement beginning Wednesday, local residents are struggling to switch from regular driver's licenses to REAL IDs, known as STAR ID in Alabama.
The REAL ID Act of 2005 requires an updated ID to fly domestically, enter certain federal buildings and enter nuclear plants. According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, "The REAL ID Act, passed in 2005, aimed to enhance the security of state-issued identification documents in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks."
The enforcement date has been pushed back several times, with the most recent extensions citing COVID-19. When enforcement begins Wednesday, passports can still serve the same purpose as a REAL ID and be used for flights.
The use of the word "deadline" in place of "enforcement date" has caused confusion and panic among the local residents, according to Dana Green, a supervisor at the ALEA Office in Decatur.
"People are under the impression that there is a deadline," she said "We explain it to them that there's not a deadline on the STAR ID; there's an effective date. It goes into effect on that day, but we do have people ... who don't think they'll be able to get it after that date."
Citizens are waiting in line at the courthouse for hours. If they don't have proper documentation, examiners can't issue them a STAR ID. Because more documentation is required to switch to STAR ID than to renew a regular license, many people wait in line for hours before finding themselves unable to meet the requirements.
People must present at least four different documents for verification of their identity, which must confirm their date of birth, Social Security number and address. A STAR ID document list can be found at alea.gov.
STAR IDs can't be issued at all DMV locations, only at ALEA locations.
Most counties have just one, if any, ALEA locations. Morgan County has one. Limestone County has one. Lawrence County has none.
If a person living in the Decatur area tries to schedule an appointment online, they'll find the message, "There are no appointments available at this time, please check back later." The closest and earliest an appointment can be made is in Cullman in late August.
Instead, people show up starting as early as 6:30 a.m. to the Decatur ALEA office trying to get an appointment for that day. It opens at 8 a.m.
Green said the Decatur location has been busier than usual, with all appointments for the day filled by 8:30 a.m. for months. One of her coworkers agreed, saying it's been like this since around December.
Apyrl Franklin has been trying to get her REAL ID since February.
She said it's hard to find somebody to take her son to school, and she's not able to get to the office early enough otherwise.
Franklin sat to the side as she waited to hear if her birth certificate would be accepted. She comes from a military family, and she was born in Germany. She doesn't have the original copy of her birth certificate.
After calling ALEA to confirm that it would work, she visited the Veterans Affairs Office to receive a notarized copy of her birth certificate.
As she waited to hear back from her supervisor on whether she could accept Franklin's birth certificate, Green helped others in line.
Everybody appeared calm, although Franklin's face scrunched with stress. People spread throughout the first floor of the Morgan County Courthouse, where the ALEA office is located. Some sat in the small waiting area attached to the office. Others lined the hallway and waiting area by the courthouse's entrance.
"The word has gotten out that if you're trying to get into the state office right now to get the STAR ID, just be prepared to wait, so you get those people that are cheering each other on," Green said. "You get those people that are making friends out there. You've got to be along for the ride."
Green's supervisor called her. They can't accept Franklin's copy of her birth certificate.
"I called someone from ALEA and asked them, and I know that you've done what you can, but I just don't know why they said that would work," Franklin said, sounding defeated. Her voice nearly broke as she tried to hold back tears.
Franklin isn't a frequent flyer, but she has a trip she wants to take with her mom to visit her grandmother.
"The main reason I'm trying to get this is because my mother had a severe heart attack and stroke, and she's wanting to see her mom, my grandmother, before my grandmother passes," Franklin said. "So we were trying to get everything taken care of so that we could do that this summer."
Green told her it may be easier to obtain a passport at this point. In the end, Franklin decided to just renew her regular license.
Meanwhile, Albert Lang sat on the floor in the hallway across from the ALEA office.
"I've been here three different times," he said.
He recently moved back to Alabama, and his REAL ID from out of state won't carry over. He arrived at 7 a.m. Friday morning.
"It's kind of aggravating," he said, but he clarified that he's not too upset for himself. "I think about the elderly standing in this line. It might be harder for them."
Workers in the ALEA office encourage people to show up early and know that they might have to wait all day.
When asked for any advice for citizens trying to get their STAR ID, Green keeps it simple: "Get here early and prepare to wait."
She also said she recommends that anyone who doesn't have travel planned for the next month or two wait until it calms down or until their regular license expires to switch to the STAR ID.
Alabama Democratic U.S. House Reps. Shomari Figures and Terri Sewell were among members of Congress who sent a letter Friday to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem asking for a six-month extension of REAL ID's effective date. REAL ID was originally set to go into effect in 2008 as a response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks but has been delayed multiple times.
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