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At last, the state Motor Vehicle Commission will allow drivers to walk into a motor vehicle agency without an appointment to get a driver’s license that meets federal Real ID standards to be used at the airport for identification.
Drivers will be allowed to walk in if it is the right time of the month and they meet other conditions. Otherwise, please make an appointment.
MVC Chief Administrator Sue Fulton announced Monday that walk-ins for Real ID licenses would be allowed on a test basis.
How do you qualify?
Walk-ins will be only allowed for license renewals, on selected dates and at participating locations. Drivers with licenses that expire in three months of the date on their license are the only ones eligible to walk-in.
Drivers also can’t walk in during the busy period at the beginning and end of the month. Walk-ins will be permitted between the fifth and 20th of the month, Fulton said.
One reason for the change is that appointments fill up rapidly. Typically appointment dates fill up for a three-month period, based on a spot check of agencies by NJ Advance Media. Drivers should keep trying because appointments open up as agencies are added, Fulton said.
“It is clear to us that right now demand outstrips the number of available Real ID appointments," Fulton said in a statement. “That is why we are testing Real ID for eligible walk-ins during these designated days of the month, which are typically less busy than at the very beginning or end of the month."
Travelers who are flying domestically will have to use a driver’s license that meets federal Real ID security standards after Oct. 1 at airports. Passports and certain other federal ID’s can be used instead. Of the MVC’s 39 motor vehicle agencies, 32 are issuing Real ID licenses. Walk-ins are only allowed at those agencies.
MVC officials have conducted a slow, cautious roll-out of issuing Real ID licenses, by beta testing individual agencies, fixing problems before allowing them to make appointments. By doing that, New Jersey has avoided long lines at agencies and other issues experienced in other states.
For other drivers with licenses that expire outside the three month limit, they can sign up on the MVC Real ID website to be emailed when a nearby agency has appointments available. Appointments may only be made on-line.
Larry Higgs may be reached at . Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is now offering REAL ID compliant driver licenses and identification cards. As mandated by the REAL ID Act of 2005, a REAL ID, U.S. Passport or military ID will be required by the federal government to board domestic flights, or to access some
federal facilities starting on May 3, 2023. If you use your driver license or ID card to get through airport security, or to access a federal facility this will soon change. California is working to meet the new standards set by the federal government, and will be making available REAL ID compliant driver licenses and identification cards at all DMV locations throughout the State of California. According to the DMV, residents interested in applying for a REAL ID compliant
driver license or identification card must do the following: Valid California driver licenses and identification cards can be used to board commercial flights until May 3, 2023.
Also, if you have a valid U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport Card, military ID, or other federally approved identification, you may use this as your form of identification to pass a TSA checkpoint at airports nationwide and visit a secure federal building or military installations at any time. Make sure to check with the federal facility/military base before you visit to verify their identification requirements.
The cost for a REAL ID driver license or identification card is the same as those currently charged for a standard driver license or identification card. REAL IDs will have a special marking of the California grizzly bear with a star on the top right corner of the card.
For more information on REAL ID, please visit REALID.dmv.ca.gov.
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