The Real ID Act was passed by Congress in 2005, establishing minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses, permits and ID cards. The act also prohibits federal agencies, like the Transportation Security Administration, from accepting cards for official purposes from states that do not meet these standards.

What that means for state residents is that starting Oct. 1, 2020, the federal government will require your driver’s license, permit or ID card to be real ID compliant if you wish to use it as identification to board a domestic flight, enter a military bases or certain federal facilities.

There are three state driver’s licenses county residents can receive from the DMV — standard, real ID or enhanced ID. The enhanced ID cost $30 more than a real ID or standard, but also allows people to use it to cross a U.S. border by land or sea coming from Canada, Mexico and some Caribbean countries.

Larry Barmore, county clerk, said 90% of the people who visit the county’s DMVs are opting for the real or enhanced ID.

Photo from dmv.ny.gov

“Pretty much what we’ve seen are most elderly people come in say, ‘I’m not going to fly or drive to Canada’ so they just get the regular license,” he said. “When I check with my supervisors (at the DMVs) what they are telling me is 80% are opting for the enhanced driver’s licence and 20% are getting the real ID.”

Barmore said the additional driver’s licenses hasn’t led county officials to appropriate any additional funds, but it does take longer to process the real or enhanced IDs.

“It takes two people to handle a customer,” he said. “We have one person who takes the money and a different person does the paperwork. It does away with the possibility of fraud at the DMV if two people handle a customer. There is no actual real cost to us. It’s just the extra paperwork that takes us longer to do it.”

Barmore said people don’t always bring in the proper identifications and DMV personnel has to ask the customer to return with the proper paperwork.

“You need a birth certificate, social security card, a utility bill or bank statement or credit card statement that has your physical address to prove where you live,” he said. “It doesn’t matter you’ve already showed these things to get your regular license. You have to show them again to get a real ID. That aggravates some people, but we don’t make the rules.”

Barmore said there have been issues in dealing with the paperwork to get a real ID when it comes to women who have married and taken their spouse’s last name.

“Sometimes a women’s last name today is not what it was when she was born,” he said. “They have to bring in a marriage license. For some people who have been married more than once, they have to show a whole paper trail. It’s a real rigmarole if they’ve been married three or four times.”

Barmore said most people are switching to a real or enhanced IDs when it is time for the driver’s license renewal. He said for county residents that don’t have to renew their license before October 2020, they might want consider visiting the DMV to acquire a real or enhanced ID.

“You don’t want to wait until September of next year,” he said. “My advice is to get it done. Don’t wait till the last minute. Online you can find a list of everything you need. I advice people to look there, which might save them from coming back in.”

Visit dmv.ny.gov/driver-license/federal-real-id for more state Real ID information.