‘Real I what?’ New federal ID requirement little known ahead of deadline

“Real I what?”

Standing in the parking lot of the Newton Motor Vehicle Agency, William Davis, 35, of Columbia, looks slightly confused.

When it's explained that REAL ID is a new federal requirement for state-issued driver’s licenses and non-driver identification cards to help prevent fraud, Davis said he didn’t know anything about it.

A cursory look inside the motor vehicle agency leaves little question why.

There is no reference to REAL ID inside the building, in areas where customers can see, and employees there deferred all questions about the requirement to the main agency in Trenton.

Brochures about the initiative are non-existent at the Newton location as well.

Meanwhile, call hold times for the Trenton location averaged more than an hour.

Although he hasn’t traveled outside the country for more than eight years, Davis said he does do some moving around within it.

“I just traveled at the beginning of September, actually,” he said.

On Oct. 1, 2020, Davis will need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license to board a domestic flight, unless he uses a passport or other federally approved form of identification.

Pulling out his license to check, Davis confirmed it expires in 2021, but said he’ll look into, and possibly get, a REAL ID-compliant one to make the next time he flies a little easier.

Transportation Security Administration agents will be able to verify if a license or identification card is REAL ID-compliant by the presence of a star in the upper right hand corner, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Apart from the practical considerations, Davis said he doesn’t really have strong feelings on the requirement one way or the other, with the exception of public safety.

“If it makes things safer, I guess I would agree with it,” he said.

Parking his motorcycle under grey skies that continually threatened rain, Rob Van Varick, 69, of Pompton Plains, said he’s not a fan of REAL ID.

“Ridiculous,” he said, when asked what he thinks about it. “It’s a money thing.”

Van Varick said he carries multiple forms of identification that require fingerprinting and background checks.

“And now I got to get a thing to get on an airplane?” he said. “Oh, and I have to produce so many points of ID to renew my license. Sounds redundant.”

Because he is a member of a trade organization that provides him with updates on state government, Van Varick said he is probably more informed about REAL ID than the average citizen in New Jersey.

Being informed, however, hasn’t changed his opinion on the value of REAL ID.

“Silly,” he said of the requirement. “Waste of money, time.”

With just under a year to go, the state Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) has not made the process to get a REAL ID available at all motor vehicle agencies. The new IDs are only being issued at select locations, according to MVC’s website, and by appointment only.

The locations have not been identified by MVC.

People interested in getting a REAL ID must fill out an online form to be notified when it is available at a location near them and to make an appointment.

In addition to the six points of identification required at motor vehicle agencies, people looking to get a REAL ID will need to bring two proofs of residential address, as well as one proof of Social Security number.

According to DHS, only 26 states were REAL ID compliant in January 2017; as of Oct. 1, 47 are now compliant with the requirement.

Despite the majority of states’ compliance, only 27 percent of Americans have been issued a REAL ID thus far, according to DHS.

Passed by congress in 2005, the REAL ID Act implements the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the federal government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses.”

The act established minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards and prohibits federal agencies from accepting licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet these standards for official purposes, such as at airport security checkpoints.