Drivers nervously watching the clock tick down on a May 2023 deadline to obtain a Real ID driver’s license to use as identification for domestic air travel got a reprieve Monday after the federal Department of Homeland Security extended the deadline by two years.
The May 3, 2023, deadline to obtain a Real ID was extended to May 7, 2025, giving both travelers and state motor vehicle departments more time to prepare. This is the third Real ID deadline extension from Homeland Security officials.
“This extension will give states needed time to ensure their residents can obtain a Real ID-compliant license or identification card,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in a statement. “DHS will also use this time to implement innovations to make the process more efficient and accessible.”
DHS officials said the extension is necessary to address the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ability to obtain a Real ID driver’s license or identification card.
New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission agencies were shut down for four months in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. They reopened in July 2020 to long lines, forcing some to camp out overnight at agencies to conduct their business.
The MVC responded by moving more transactions online to its website to reduce in person visits to agencies. The commission also instituted an appointment system for vehicle and licensing centers.
However, obtaining a Real ID is a transaction that as to be done in person to verify documents to prove identify, residency and citizenship.
“The extension of the national Real ID deadline until May 2025 will give the MVC more time to issue Real IDs for customers who need or want them,” said William Connolly, an NJMVC spokesman. “We eagerly await word from DHS on any potential changes to the Real ID process to make it more efficient and accessible.”
Homeland Security officials said issuing Real ID licenses and ID cards over the past two years has been “significantly hindered” by state motor vehicle departments working to reduce backlogs of transactions created by the pandemic.
Currently, the MVC has two types of appointments for Real ID. Drivers can make an appointment to upgrade their current license to a Real ID license. Drivers also can apply for a Real ID license when it’s time to renew their standard license.
The MVC also offers Real ID non-driver ID cards.
“We strongly encourage customers to consider Real ID when their license or ID next comes up for renewal,” Connolly said. “Customers interested in getting Real ID should book a renewal appointment with MVC in the three-month window prior to their current ID’s expiration to get Real ID, and make sure to bring the required documents to their appointment.”
Drivers have complained that the Real ID update appointments have been the most difficult to get with fewer available appointments than other driver’s license transactions.
If drivers chose not to get a Real ID, they can still use a passport to prove their identity for domestic air travel.
The original Oct. 1, 2020, Real ID deadline was extended twice due to the pandemic. It was first extended in 2020 and given a new deadline of Oct. 1, 2021. Then, officials extended it again in 2021 and said the new deadline would be in May 2023.
Following the extended May 7, 2025 deadline, federal agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration will be prohibited from accepting non-Real ID driver’s licenses and identification cards for anyone who wants to use them as identification.
Real ID’s or other forms of federally compliant identification also will be needed to enter certain federal buildings after May 7, 2025.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
Ad Choices