Called the MVC, but had a long wait and their site doesn't seem to be clear.
I currently have a driver's license that's expiring in a couple of months. If I get RealID, can I use that instead of my driver's license?
Similarly, a friend just became a US citizen. Can he get the RealID instead of a state ID?
As others have said, Real ID just enhances your driver license. It means you can use it instead of a passport to get on planes, etc.
A non citizen can get a drivers license. Only a citizen can get a real ID. It will be (in a few years) needed for domestic air travel. A regular driver’s license will no longer suffice. Or you will need a passport. However if you plan on moving to a new state you will need to go through the real ID process in the new state. It is not automatically given. Also, you need a lot of info. Expect to be sent home at least once. Demand a slip that says you can come back in thirty days. It is a monumental PITA.
>use it instead of a passport to get on planes
both domestic and international?
No. International still requires a passport.
Real ID is a drivers license with a star on it. In 2025 the TSA will be requiring them (or basically a passport) to board flights. That is if they don't push it back again, it was supposed to be required starting in 2012.
Then what's the point? I can use my current license to get on a plane.
That will be banned May 2025
I think my RealID will expire before I’m ever required to use it
It's a facial recognition database for the Fed that you can't opt out of. Thank the Patriot Act.
>Only a citizen can get a real ID
This is false.
If you read what documents/identification you can and cannot use, it is not hard at all. I got mine summer 2022. No need to be sent away; I was in and out.
It is easier for men and unmarried women. When I went to do it they told me nearly all women have to come back. I had to legally change my name to do it. It was honestly a nightmare.
Undocumented immigrants cannot. https://www.stilt.com/blog/2020/09/nj-drivers-licence-for-undocumented/
If you are documented TPS you can.
It looks the same as the current license but has a large gold star on the upper right
Yeah that’s unbelievable that NJ is making this a problem tbh.
I think the TSA pushed back the requirements for RealID another year. I just renewed mine online and they just sent one with the picture they had on file. You have to go in person to get the updated one.
It's a federal rule so the ban on using a non-realID drivers license for domestic flights applies to all states. That said you can also apply for global entry and that card can get you on domestic flights.
You can also use a Global Entry card as a substitute for a real ID drivers license because the GE card is real ID compliant. You need a passport to get one, but you don't have to carry around your passport on domestic flights as least.
Passport card also works domestically and doesn't require an interview + background check. If you're not traveling internationally GE is kind of a waste of time and money (though if you are, the passport card is basically useless).
True. Global Entry is only $15 more than TSA Precheck though so you might as well go for that option even if you don't travel internationally that often. It includes TSA Precheck.
The interview isn't really an interview tbh. They just confirm what you put on your application, ask why you traveled to certain countries (business or leisure), and how the program works. Took 5-10 minutes.
what’s the difference between the two for traveling if one just has a star on it
Does being a member of Clear negate any of these requirements? It’s associated with Homeland Security and all.
It has nothing to due with the state. It’s one of the additional security measures in response to 9/11, yes that is how many times it has been pushed back.
You misunderstand me.
Up until like literally this year NJ DLs have been realID SINCE 2001 or whatever. Now suddenly as they’re becoming required for national flights in 3 years NJ decides to cheap out and go back to less secure drivers licenses? Wtf.
That’s not at all true or accurate , nj driver’s licenses have not ever been real id by default. They only began issuing them at all several years ago at the most if I recall correctly. The federal government has routinely pushed back the date to make real ID mandatory for domestic air travel, because many states, not just NJ, had been running behind in the roll out. Then the pandemic came around and made it an even bigger problem for people to get them, and it was pushed back again. I’ve had an NJ drivers license for over 15 years, I don’t currently have a real ID license, and I never have. They are not given out by default in this state.
Edit: to further clarify, since the roll out of real ID in Nj, all drivers licenses either have the real id star, or explicitly say they are not real id.
Perhaps you are confusing Real ID with the points system of ID needed to obtain the license? That was initiated as part of the process that would be required to obtain the Real id, but real id did not itself begin until 2020 or so.
Uh what?
I have had a real id nj dl since I was at least 28. In 2006.
No you haven’t, and I don’t know why you seem to think you have. They literally did not even start issuing them until about 2020. I don’t know why you think this, but you are absolutely 100% mistaken.
Remind me in a week when I get back. I’ll post my old ids.
Nj began issuing real ID in September 2019. I was off by a year. So no, you absolutely have not had one since 2006. Also, you should look into it, since you seem to think you have one by default, when they don’t even do that as of now.
Well, it’s not just a star- it has other security markings too. But the important thing is they (supposedly) do a much more extensive background check on you before they give you the version that has the star.
> That will be banned May 2025
…maybe. It was originally supposed to be banned in 2012, and they keep postponing the deadline.
hahahha no i know it’s not just a star but i was wondering what made this different. i moved to texas and already got mine. didn’t seem like a different process. btw texas DMV is so much better than NJ. first, i don’t have to go every time i lose my license which is often. they mail me a new one. the people were nice when i got my first one and you sit with the employee to go through the paperwork.
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Here is a background if you're misremembering, NJ wasnt compliant until 2020: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_ID_Act
Also checking Google News Archives, there are no articles mentioning Real ID requirements in NJ prior to 2008. https://www.google.com/search?q=new+jersey+%22real+id%22&rlz=1C1RXQR_enUS1041US1041&biw=1261&bih=839&source=lnt&tbs=cdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A1%2F1%2F2001%2Ccd_max%3A1%2F1%2F2009&tbm=nws
Here is the first mention of REAL ID on NJ.com from 2009: https://www.nj.com/reporter/2009/12/somerset_county_identification.html
Did you by chance have a license in antoher state and transfer it to NJ in 2006? Or did your license have a star that you had assumed meant it as compliant, when may have just been decorative?
I'm a permanent resident and I got mine just fine so it's not just citizens.
I wrote that already in a reply.
How many times have they pushed the date out? They'll probably push it out several more times before May 2025.
When I was transferring my NY to NJ license, I didn't have enough documentation to get the Real ID here, so I just have the regular license, but then it got pushed from 2022 to 2025. So by the time I have what I need to qualify and have the time to go again , I'll probably be in a different state anyway and have to deal with it there 😬
Yes a realid is a driver's license
Married woman here, got it on the first try. All documents except my birth certificate of course have my married name already.
Foyt20 t1_j8u2s6q wrote
Your driver's license will be real id certified but will still be your driver's license.