DMV plans more ‘express days’ to make getting a REAL ID faster and easier
If you’ve been thinking about getting a REAL ID this year, the state Division of Motor Vehicles is trying to make it easier.
The DMV will hold a series of REAL ID Express Days where DMV offices are devoted to processing REAL IDs and other simple transactions. The first express day of the year will take place Saturday, Feb. 1, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the East Durham office at 101 South Miami Blvd.
The DMV plans to hold more express days across the state this winter and spring, including ones in Garner and Raleigh in April and May.
A REAL ID is a driver’s license or state-issued ID card that meets new federal standards for verifying a person’s identification established after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Starting Oct. 1, 2020, people will need a REAL ID or a passport to board a domestic commercial flight or to visit a military base or federal facility where an ID is required (some military bases already have this requirement).
North Carolina drivers can renew their driver’s license online, but a new REAL ID, whether the license is new or a renewal, must be obtained in person at a DMV office. You must bring various forms of identification, more documents than for traditional licenses. They include:
▪ Proof of identity and date of birth, such as a certified birth certificate or an unexpired U.S. passport.
▪ Proof of a full Social Security number, such as a Social Security card, a W-2 form or a 1099 tax form.
▪ Two documents that show current address, including a driver’s license, vehicle registration card, voter registration card, utility or cable bill or a bank statement.
▪ If your name is different from the one on your birth certificate or passport, you’ll need additional documents to show that it has changed. These can include a certified marriage license, a divorce decree or court documents indicating the name change.
For more information, including a fuller list of qualifying documents, go to NCREALID.gov.
The DMV has issued more than 1.7 million REAL IDs since they became available in May 2017 and expects that hundreds of thousands of other people may want one before the new ID requirements go into effect this fall.
More than 3,200 people took advantage of REAL ID Express Days in eight cities last year. The lines generally move faster, because DMV business that usually takes longer, such as knowledge and driving tests and those involving non-U.S. citizens, aren’t done during an express day.
If you’re planning ahead, DMV will hold REAL ID Express Days at the Garner driver’s license office in the Forest Hills Shopping Center on April 18 and at the West Raleigh office on Avent Ferry Road on April 25 and May 9. For a full list of express days, go to NCREALID.gov.
This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 3:18 PM.
