REAL ID faces real deadline May 7

With just over a month to go before REAL ID or another federally approved ID is required to take commercial flights or enter federal facilities, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will offer extra hours so residents can get a special driver’s license or ID card.

At a news conference Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll said the agency will add special hours to accept REAL ID applications on every Monday through May 5 except Easter Monday, April 21. License centers normally are closed on Mondays but a total of 57 locations — including 14 where applicants with the proper paperwork can get their card over the counter — will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Customers who don’t go to an over-the-counter center can go to a center to file their paperwork and expect to get their card in about 15 days through the mail.

REAL ID is voluntary, but beginning May 7 people without the specially encrypted cards will not be able to pass through airport security or enter other federal facilities unless they have a passport or military ID.

The cards are an outgrowth of recommendations after the 9/11 terrorist attacks designed to keep people from making fake licenses to hide their identity when they fly. Pennsylvania had resisted for years because of the cost of issuing new driver’s licenses, and the federal Office of Homeland Security extended the deadline several times during the pandemic because the public was encouraged to stay home, but no extension is expected for the May 7 deadline.

So far, about 2.6 million residents (about 26%) have received REAL ID cards, Carroll said. But with the deadline approaching, the agency has been experiencing long lines from customers who want to get the cards, so the state is trying to accommodate everyone, he said.

“People are procrastinators,” Carroll said. “Our license centers have seen real serious issues with people showing up even before the centers are open.”

Residents who aren’t sure whether they previously received REAL ID can check their license or ID card. If there is a gold star in the upper right corner on the front of the card, it is encrypted with REAL ID.

The centers try to process applicants as fast as they can, Carroll said, but lines have been long.

“You’ll have to bring a little patience along with the paperwork you need,” Carroll said. “I don’t want to see any Pennsylvania resident show up at any of our airports after May 7 without a REAL ID and get turned away.

“The hassle factor will be sky high if that happens.”

It’s especially important that applicants have the paperwork they need when they apply so they aren’t turned away. One element that has been tripping up female applicants is the need for formal paperwork showing any name change if they have been married or divorced — the state requires a document with a raised seal from the county that granted the name change.

The ID card or license costs $30, and if a resident isn’t due for a new one, the state will add four years to their existing card so they don’t lose time they paid for in the past.

In the Pittsburgh area, license centers in Bridgeville and Jeannette are equipped to process paperwork over the counter so customers can receive their REAL ID card immediately.