If you haven’t received your REAL ID driver’s license or ID card, don’t plan on flying or entering most federal buildings or military bases after 12:01 a.m. Wednesday unless you have a passport or military ID.
More than 20 years after the passage of the federal law requiring REAL ID to prevent counterfeit ID after the 9/11 attacks, the Department of Homeland Security will begin enforcement of the requirement for the specially encrypted card. Pennsylvania residents have been flocking to state driver license centers in recent weeks — more than 10,000 last Monday alone — in an effort to get the special card before the deadline.
The state will have special hours again Monday at all 57 of its license centers for residents to apply. At 14 special REAL ID centers, patrons with the correct documents can get their new card over the counter, but at the others they can apply and receive their card by mail in 12 to 15 days.
After Tuesday without REAL ID people won’t be able to fly or enter federal buildings or military bases unless they can show a valid passport or military ID. Transportation Safety Administration officers at all airports will begin turning away would-be flyers Wednesday if they don’t have the required REAL ID card.
REAL ID is voluntary, so those not planning to travel or visit federal buildings or military bases do not have to have it. But state Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll said it “would be a shame” if travelers have their plans canceled because they don’t have the proper ID.
“People look forward to traveling with friends and family on vacation or business,” Carroll said at an event in Lycoming County Friday. “But after next Wednesday, if you don’t have a REAL ID or a passport, you won’t be permitted to board a domestic flight.
“We’re strongly encouraging everyone to plan ahead for your travel needs before you arrive at the airport, especially if you already have flights planned for the summer.”
The requirement shouldn’t be a surprise because the state began planning to issue the cards in 2016. After resisting for more than 10 years because of concerns about the cost and the belief that it created what some considered an improper national ID card, Pennsylvania and four other states agreed to comply when federal officials set a deadline.
Because of delays in building REAL ID centers — which require special security measures — and then the pandemic, Homeland Security extended the deadline several times with evidence the states were trying to comply. This time, there will be no extension.
Overall, the state invested more than $24 million to build new centers and convert others to process REAL ID.
The state Department of Transportation began holding rotating REAL ID Mondays at license centers across the state in October, and for the past few months all centers have had hours on Mondays, when they normally are closed. The state has processed more than 40,000 applications since then.
Overall, the state has issued more than 2.6 million driver’s licenses and ID cards that meet REAL ID requirements since they began issuing them in March 2019. If you’re not sure whether you have received REAL ID, the card has a yellow star in the upper right corner.
If you still want to receive a REAL ID card before the deadline, the over-the-counter center in this area is at Chartiers Valley Shopping Center on Washington Pike/Route 50 in Bridgeville. That site took over half of a former movie theater complex at the rear of the plaza.
To apply for REAL ID, customers must present: a birth certificate from the state where you were born with a raised seal or a valid, unexpired passport; proof of a Social Security number with your current legal name (Social Security card, a W-2 tax form or a pay stub); two examples of your physical address (current driver’s license, vehicle registration or a recent utility bill with the same name and address); and proof of all name changes, particularly for married or divorced women.
There is a one-time fee of $30 for REAL ID in addition to $39.50 for the driver’s license. If you have time left on your license, that will be added to the four-year REAL ID card.
Carroll said in a media briefing Thursday he’s a bit concerned about travelers who plan to use their passport instead of REAL ID.
“It’s not something people have with them all the time,” he said. “You have to remember to take it with you, even if you are traveling domestically.”
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.