# Will REAL ID (enhanced driver licenses) finally be a thing in the USA? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 23, 2019, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314 "2019-12-23T23:26:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/41 "2019-12-24T22:43:34Z")
IIRC Real ID is state issued ID approved by the fed. That will allow one to fly domestically on commercial aircrafts. Enhanced DL includes everything that Real ID has and is a licence that would also allow driving, walking etc. to a foreign country, basically only Mexico and Canada as the land bridge from Alaska to Russia is unlikely to reform with global warming. Enhanced DL’s is only available in states that border other countries. > [@dalej42](#): > > TSA isn’t fun but it’s rarely the horror story that some people make it out to be. … They aren’t till they are. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/42 "2019-12-24T23:59:09Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > TSA isn’t fun but it’s rarely the horror story that some people make it out to be. It is annoyingly inconsistent: shoes on or off, iPads and laptops out or in, and so on. Sure, every now and then you meet an agent on a power trip who thinks they’re working at Alcatraz. But, I’ve run into that with security guards at office buildings I’ve worked at as well. > > No one particularly enjoys domestic flights, but I figure I’m better off than those in the so-called golden age of flying. Fares are cheap enough for me to be able to fly almost anywhere and it’s much easier to entertain myself on the plane now than in the 1970s, where the only thing to do was puff away on cigarettes and get sloshed on martinis. I think you are conflating two things here. The things that give you cheaper fares and advanced technology and smoke free airplanes have nothing to do with the security theater that the TSA brings. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/43 "2019-12-25T00:15:22Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I think you are conflating two things here. The things that give you cheaper fares and advanced technology and smoke free airplanes have nothing to do with the security theater that the TSA brings. Oh, I’d happily end all the security theatre in a heartbeat. The guy with a black belt in karate is more of a danger than the senior citizen with too much hand lotion, but what does TSA focus on? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/44 "2019-12-25T00:48:24Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > This REAL ID nonsense seems a good candidate for the burn pile. As it has been postponed for 20 years, perhaps it isn’t necessary. The 9/11 hijackers could have all gotten REAL ID compliant licenses and it seems silly to inconvenience millions of people for…reasons. It was a back-door means to get a national identity card of sorts that certain folks have been agitating for for years. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/45 "2019-12-25T00:49:38Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I have docs that I think should be everything I need. But I’ve read and heard so many horror stories about how over-the-top nitpicky they can be about what docs they will accept. F’rinsance, you need a “certified” copy of your birth certificate. What will some flunky front-line DMV clerk recognize as a “certified” certificate? I got my birth certificate 40-some years ago and still have it. Are the markings from that long ago still recognizable today? My birth certificate is over 50 years old. They took it. Of course, YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/46 "2019-12-25T00:57:47Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > In California, I had to take a vision test and written test when I went to beat the rush and got my Real ID in August. My unreal license was going to expire next June, so I don’t know if being within a year of expiration played into it or not. In California, you are required to take the written test if you apply for the Real ID more than 60 days before the expiration of your license. If you apply within 60 days of expiration, you do not need to take the written test unless the DMV determines that you need to take it based on your driving record. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/47 "2019-12-25T01:02:29Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I have docs that I think should be everything I need. But I’ve read and heard so many horror stories about how over-the-top nitpicky they can be about what docs they will accept. F’rinsance, you need a “certified” copy of your birth certificate. What will some flunky front-line DMV clerk recognize as a “certified” certificate? I got my birth certificate 40-some years ago and still have it. Are the markings from that long ago still recognizable today? The biggest issue is whether the name on that birth certificate matches the name on all of your other documents. If you have changed your name for any reason (including marriage and divorce) you will need to have paperwork verifying the legality of the change. At least in California, most of the problems I have heard about involve people who changed their name and didn’t have documentation. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/48 "2019-12-25T02:43:11Z")
It does come up outside of marriage and divorce. In my state there have been issues with adoptees having problems, and people who for whatever reason used a nickname so thoroughly from a young age that none of their current documents match their birth certificate name (which I suppose is an undocumented name change) And if you did have a name change Og help you if you didn’t keep track of all the paperwork. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/49 "2019-12-25T09:58:02Z")
NJ has (had?) a rule that all official documentation has to have a raised stamp. WA uses (used) a multi-color stamp on official documentation. Had lots of fun getting my NJ driver’s license with my new name. Suggestion: do the name change separate from the move. I do dread moving back to the U.S. due to the driver’s license requirements. At least I don’t have to worry about that for another decade or so. Maybe by then all states will have REAL ID. I’m still going to have fun due to an unusual first name. Most of my current documentation is consistent, that is, my passport, driver’s license and residence permit, but not all my bank records, etc. are exactly consistent. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/50 "2019-12-25T10:19:54Z")
For RealID purposes the bank records won’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/51 "2019-12-25T10:38:52Z")
The statuses of REAL ID licences in all 56 American jurisdictions (50 states, D.C., and the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa) are given by this map: [https://www.dhs.gov/real-id](https://www.dhs.gov/real-id) Only five are not yet compliant. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/52 "2019-12-25T11:47:00Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > In California, you are required to take the written test if you apply for the Real ID more than 60 days before the expiration of your license. If you apply within 60 days of expiration, you do not need to take the written test unless the DMV determines that you need to take it based on your driving record. [Maybe, maybe not](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/getting-california-real-id-heres-how-get-screwed-dmv-kelvin-nguyen). Don’t know if that guy found an actual out on taking the test or the DMV was just that incompetent that day. Logically there should be no reason a test would be required just because you aren’t renewing on a particular date, but logic and regulations certainly needn’t coincide. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2019, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/53 "2019-12-26T20:30:06Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > In California, you are required to take the written test if you apply for the Real ID more than 60 days before the expiration of your license. If you apply within 60 days of expiration, you do not need to take the written test unless the DMV determines that you need to take it based on your driving record. What the hell is the reason for that? What about if you lose your ID? There are procedures right now to get enhanced screening if you lose your ID shortly before a flight. If you don’t have a REAL ID, couldn’t you just say you lost your id? If they’re closing that path… what if you actually lose your ID while on vacation? ---
**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:** [December 26, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/54 "2019-12-26T20:46:05Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > What the hell is the reason for that? > > What about if you lose your ID? There are procedures right now to get enhanced screening if you lose your ID shortly before a flight. If you don’t have a REAL ID, couldn’t you just say you lost your id? If they’re closing that path… what if you actually lose your ID while on vacation? If you lose your REAL ID, you go through enhanced screening. If you don’t have a READ ID for any reason, you go through enhanced screening. Nothing has changed. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2019, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/55 "2019-12-26T23:24:34Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > If you lose your REAL ID, you go through enhanced screening. If you don’t have a READ ID for any reason, you go through enhanced screening. Nothing has changed. But, again, I’m not seeing why this is so suspicious. If you are legally in the United States (from a foreign country), you have a “REAL ID” right, your foreign issued passport? Everyone was required to show ID prior to 9/11, no? Didn’t all 19 of the 9/11 hijackers therefore have “REAL ID” on their person? If I have missed something, then I stand to be corrected, but it seems as if this new requirement, which has been delayed for nearly 20 years because reasons, would not have prevented 9/11 but has been instituted because of some fear that people who are illegally present in the country might hijack airplanes and further be able to fake the state issued non-REAL IDs??? I honestly do not understand this need for it. To your point, this “enhanced screening” makes no sense. I understand that if someone is claiming to be Jim Bob Jones and speaking with a southern accent you just can’t waive him through for racial/nationalist reasons. I agree with this. So let’s say that some guy named “Mohammed Al-Asir” walks up to the TSA checkpoint with either no ID or a state issued non-REAL ID. What about that makes you think he is a better candidate to be a terrorist solely because of the absence of a REAL ID, more so than some other person who possesses a REAL ID and therefore gets less screening? Is there any rational reason? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/56 "2019-12-27T01:41:57Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Everyone was required to show ID prior to 9/11, no? Not for very long prior to 9/11. [In 1996](https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/15/travel/fliers-suffer-identity-crises.html), it was still a weird new thing airlines were doing that was causing a lot of problems for the unaware: > [@](#): > > JIM LANGLEY, owner of the Travel Agency in Chiefland, Fla., near Gainesville, has since Oct. 16 been printing an additional message on the bottom of every itinerary he sends to customers. It says: > > ‘‘Due to security regulations, all passengers over age 18 must have a federal, state or locally issued photo ID that matches the name on the ticket. Infants under 2 years must have a birth certificate or shot record to show age.’’ > > Mr. Langley said he added the warning for adults after getting a number of complaints from clients that airlines would not let them board their flights because the name on the identification card varied in some way from the name on the ticket. Many agencies are now issuing such warnings: Diane Ruppert, president of the Travel Company in Madison, Wis., started adding them to itineraries in July, when the security level was stepped up by the Federal Aviation Administration. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/57 "2019-12-28T03:07:05Z")
I still don’t understand why getting a REAL ID in one state doesn’t keep you from going through the hassle all over again when you move to another state. That is, yes, of course, you may have to take a written test, vision test, etc., but the hassle of certified birth certificate, name change documentation, etc. would be done because you’d have a DL showing you’d met those requirements in the previous state. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/58 "2019-12-28T04:43:24Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > I still don’t understand why getting a REAL ID in one state doesn’t keep you from going through the hassle all over again when you move to another state. That is, yes, of course, you may have to take a written test, vision test, etc., but the hassle of certified birth certificate, name change documentation, etc. would be done because you’d have a DL showing you’d met those requirements in the previous state. I assume it’s just because it’s a badly written law subject to a lot of interpretations passed in the frenzy of post 9/11 security theatre mania. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/59 "2019-12-28T04:48:02Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Not for very long prior to 9/11. [In 1996](https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/15/travel/fliers-suffer-identity-crises.html), it was still a weird new thing airlines were doing that was causing a lot of problems for the unaware: Wasn’t 1996 around the time they started asking you the silly questions about did you pack your own bags and did anyone ask you to bring something on board for them? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2019, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314/60 "2019-12-28T13:07:52Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > I still don’t understand why getting a REAL ID in one state doesn’t keep you from going through the hassle all over again when you move to another state. That is, yes, of course, you may have to take a written test, vision test, etc., but the hassle of certified birth certificate, name change documentation, etc. would be done because you’d have a DL showing you’d met those requirements in the previous state. Well, among the things you need to prove is residency (the utility bill & other proof of residency). Your former RealID shows that you were a resident there - your new state needs proof that you’re a resident in the new place. And as long as you’re doing that, you may as well bring the rest down. I just applied for an Enhanced DL (don’t really need one. I have a passport card, but I thought the DL would be more convenient). Every other time I’ve been to the DOL, it’s been pretty quick & not worth mentioning. This time, I should have made an appointment for because it took 2 hours of waiting to be seen, after which it was 5 minutes. Like many, I have my doubts that this will kick in six weeks before the next election, but just in case it does… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-real-id-enhanced-driver-licenses-finally-be-a-thing-in-the-usa/845314.md?page=4)