Real ID scramble causes DMV chaos
TSA will stop accepting standard US driver licenses starting May 7.
Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images
• less than 3 min read
Starting May 7, a standard US driver’s license will be as useful for boarding a domestic flight as Yugoslavian travel papers. Those who don’t (or can’t) use a passport to fly will have to show TSA a Real ID—a federally-compliant license.
Real mayhem
Because the deadline to get a Real ID was moved three times, many Americans are just getting around to applying for one, making DMV visits even more of a Kafkaesque nightmare than usual:
- Frantic Real ID-seekers are causing widespread DMV lines and appointment shortages—even leading to scalpers selling slots in Miami, per the Wall Street Journal.
- Some Americans are opting to get a new standard ID (which won’t help them at the airport), since applying for a Real ID requires extra documents like a bank statement and a Social Security card.
Some states are further down the Real ID road than others: 98% of Texans have Real IDs, while only 26% of Pennsylvanians are opting in.
How to tell if yours is Real? Real IDs are marked with a special symbol like a star in the top right corner.
Airlines could suffer…as the Real ID switch threatens to scuttle travel plans at a time when carriers are already scaling back profit expectations due to stagnating demand.
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