California DMV to issue free Real ID to those who received driver's licenses during the pandemic

The measure will be maintained throughout this year and will serve as an incentive for all those who still do not have this security distinction, which will be mandatory from May 3, 2023 in some spaces

Photo: Joshua Woroniecki / Courtesy

After setting the deadline of October 1 of this year, the government Federal has extended the deadline for obtaining the Real ID until 2023 . After this, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) announced that this type of safety distinction will be issued free of charge to all those who have applied for driver’s licenses or identification cards in any of its offices during the pandemic for COVID – 19.

Since it was passed by Congress more than 15 years, the Royal Identification Act seeks to create a much more secure landscape around the issuance of driver’s licenses and ID cards. The origins of this law are related to the events of the 10 September 2001 and its range of action, until now, fell on certain people who frequented very specific places: commercial flights or federal buildings and jurisdictions. In recent years these rules have changed and now, as of May 3, 2023, the federal government will only accept Real ID driver’s licenses as the only acceptable form of identification in those spaces.

This means that , as of this date, anyone who wishes to use their driver’s license to board a domestic flight or have access to any military, federal or nuclear space (for work, for example) will need it to have the Real ID distinction . If the license is still a standard license for that time, its holder will need to prove their identity either with a valid passport, an enhanced driver’s license (so far only issued in Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Vermont) or any of documents that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recognizes as acceptable substitutes.

In California, citizens who wish to obtain Real ID only need to complete an application through the official state DMV site , upload the documents through the tool that is there and then go to an office to complete the process. For that moment, it will only be necessary: ​​

1. Provide the confirmation number resulting from the online application.

2. Provide the Social Security Number. The DMV no longer requires documents to prove the existence of the same from the past 15 May 2021. Therefore, the number will suffice.

3. Provide any document that proves your identity.

4. Provide two documents that prove your residence in the state.

The California DMV also does not require applicants to schedule an appointment to be seen . According to this agency, the application procedure in their offices would only take an approximate of 10 minutes. The Real ID cannot be requested by undocumented immigrants, since it cannot give proof of presence legal in the United States. However, these individuals may complete other procedures with the DMV, such as applying for an AB license 60, a driving license with some restrictions, including the impossibility of being used as a form of identification .

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