# Is your Real ID flimsy? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 19, 2024, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475 "2024-07-19T21:03:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2024, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/21 "2024-07-22T00:26:17Z")
I wish I had a set of calipers. I’m certain my current DL isn’t as thick as my old one. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2024, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/22 "2024-07-22T00:35:33Z")
The one I was issued had colorful fibers and I think watermarks and TSA wouldn’t bat an eye. It’s not like the agent is validating anything beyond matching names to the boarding pass, anyway. I’d be more worried at the rental car desk or hotel check in. > [@Loach](#): > > But I still had my old DL which didn’t expire for a few more weeks. Mine was holepunched before I got it back. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2024, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/23 "2024-07-22T01:14:19Z")
If you are used to cardstock heavily laminated on both sides, any of the modern credit-card style licenses will feel less stiff. The difference IMO isn’t RealID or not but rather 2000’s era license-printing tech versus 2020’s era tech. Plus Oklahoma. Of course. They put the “Duh” is Duhsfunctional. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/24 "2024-07-23T15:33:59Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Good bet the OP’s Oklahoma government is just being their usual ignorant poverty-stricken selves. So, you’re saying it’s just OK, then? ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/25 "2024-07-23T15:38:50Z")
I don’t know how many people know this, but “OKLAHOMA IS OK” was on our license plates the whole time I was growing up. Now, it’s “Native America.” At least it’s not “Famous Potatoes.” ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/26 "2024-07-23T16:20:30Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > At least it’s not “Famous Potatoes.” Well, of course not. Oklahoma potatoes are _infamous_. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/27 "2024-07-23T16:23:14Z")
I’ve grown potatoes here. They were absolutely famous. People came from all around to marvel at my new potatoes. And then the potato bugs got them. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/28 "2024-07-23T16:33:44Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > I don’t know how many people know this, but “OKLAHOMA IS OK” was on our license plates the whole time I was growing up. I grew up and attended college in SoCal. Oklahoma was not much on my radar. My first assignment in USAF was to pilot training in Enid OK, a small crossroads county seat about 60-80 miles from Oklahoma City. Suffice it to say the culture shock was extreme. I’m still scarred. And yes, the motto “Oklahoma is OK” (barely) was on their plates then. One of which adorned my car for about 18 months before I resettled at my next duty station and could remove that badge of shame. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/29 "2024-07-23T16:35:52Z")
Mine is my license and both the old NJ license and current Real ID one are equally study. But my car registrations are now much lighter weight and flimsy. Real IDs are by state and not Federal, so they will vary a lot of course. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/30 "2024-07-23T16:39:34Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Real IDs are by state and not Federal, so they will vary a lot of course. They shouldn’t vary much. The Feds set the standards for much of their specifications. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/31 "2024-07-23T16:42:52Z")
The bureaucratic issuance process that makes them RealID is completely federally standardized. How any state designs their physical license credential is pretty much up to them AFAIK. Plus / minus any standards to make the RealID logo hard to counterfeit. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/32 "2024-07-23T17:41:25Z")
What creature is a potato bug over there, a beetle? In the west they are a horrifying cricket. Oklahoma’s famous potatoes are Sonic Drive-In Groovy fries. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/33 "2024-07-23T18:14:47Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > What creature is a potato bug over there, a beetle? In the west they are a horrifying cricket. Looks like the ones that I had were [Colorado potato beetles.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_potato_beetle) > [@](#): > > Oklahoma’s famous potatoes are Sonic Drive-In Groovy fries. While I consider the Groovy fries to be an improvement over the old-school fries, I’m more of a tator tot or onion ring kind of guy. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/34 "2024-07-23T18:20:16Z")
PA chiming in. My real ID is the same as my original ID. I have had it for a couple years now. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/35 "2024-07-23T21:37:29Z")
If we’re looking for a “universal” standard to compare the IDs in different states, my CA ID is identical in weight, size, flexibility, and material as my Costco card. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/36 "2024-07-23T21:46:19Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > CA ID is identical in weight, size, flexibility, and material as my Costco card. 0.76 mm is 30 mil, which as far as I can tell is a common standard thickness for credit cards, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/37 "2024-07-23T21:56:15Z")
My Real ID license is apparently identical to the regular one it replaced except for the star icon. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/38 "2024-07-23T22:00:40Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > 0.76 mm is 30 mil, which as far as I can tell is a common standard thickness for credit cards, etc . I’m not sure what standard is for credit cards these days. I have at least 3 different species in my wallet. A thin, almost brittle card with raised numbers. A softer printed variety (like my CA DL). And a stiff, laminated metal card that doubles as a ninja weapon. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475/39 "2024-08-03T23:45:53Z")
The real ID card is plenty thick. But what’s up with the ghostly pale B&W photos Mrs. J. and I wound up with? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-your-real-id-flimsy/1004475.md?page=1)