I believe cause a passport supersedes a real ID. I don’t need a real ID since I have my passport
Fun at the DMV
- Thread starter Chris142
- Start date
I believe cause a passport supersedes a real ID. I don’t need a real ID since I have my passport
Short version is that "real ID" is a verified proof of identity, like a passport or military ID, etc. What constitutes verified is controlled by the federal govt.
Your drivers license is a state controlled document. Some states control access better than others - lets just leave it at that. You don't need real ID, unless you want to access federally controlled secured things - like an airport or restricted government building - federal court house, military base, etc. A passport or passport card is a real ID - so you don't need both, but having both is convenient.
When I got my real ID all I had to do was show 2 or 3 approved documents when I renewed my license. It added 30 seconds to the process. The only reason I had to go in person was to get real ID (or if you address has changed). If your state is making it difficult that is on them. Governor Sanford privatized SC DMV a decade or more ago, and its a breeze most of the time.
Eventually.
It keeps getting pushed back.
As of now, it's May 2025 - https://www.tsa.gov/real-id
Given it was passed in 2005, looks to be about 20 years from passage to finally mandated, if the current date stands.
Still haven't converted my D/L. I was going to do it in 2020, then C-19.
But I have a passport card, so I'm not too worried
The DMV plans to offer REAL ID services at the following Auto Club of Southern California offices by the end of July 2021.
Alhambra Costa Mesa Long Beach Redlands
Arcadia Fullerton Los Angeles Riverside
Camarillo Inglewood-Ladera Manhattan Beach San Diego-Clairemont
Chatsworth Laguna Hills Northridge Santa Barbara
Chino La Quinta Rancho Palos Verdes
AAA performs some DMV functions here in SoCal, and is always a better experience than the DMV.
Alhambra Costa Mesa Long Beach Redlands
Arcadia Fullerton Los Angeles Riverside
Camarillo Inglewood-Ladera Manhattan Beach San Diego-Clairemont
Chatsworth Laguna Hills Northridge Santa Barbara
Chino La Quinta Rancho Palos Verdes
AAA performs some DMV functions here in SoCal, and is always a better experience than the DMV.
It's every other renewal in TX. If you get your pic taken, then next time you can renew online. Then the next renewal you have to go in for a new picture.
I didn't have to do a thing in the past for "REAL ID". The little gold star on my license appeared last time I renewed.
AAA has done vehicle registration stuff but never drivers license stuff. That's changing?
It changed, I think due to Covid-19, but you have to follow the instructions carefully. One of which is starting the process through the DMV.
Just like Illinois. The answer that you get might depend on which direction the wind is blowing from that day, or the color of the shoes that you are wearing. The problem is that many times, it is based on that particular employee's interpretation of what the rules are.
To get my real ID, I took a stack of documents that was a half an inch thick that I had collected from home, and handed them to the guy at the DMV office. I told him to just go ahead and rummage around through them, until he found whatever would work for him. I had studied the list of the documents that they would accept, and I was getting mine done in ONE trip. I had enough documents in that stack that would qualify me at least three different ways.
To get my real ID, I took a stack of documents that was a half an inch thick that I had collected from home, and handed them to the guy at the DMV office. I told him to just go ahead and rummage around through them, until he found whatever would work for him. I had studied the list of the documents that they would accept, and I was getting mine done in ONE trip. I had enough documents in that stack that would qualify me at least three different ways.
Which Native American Nation are your descended from?
Last time I needed to renew my drivers license the California DMV required that I take the latest written test and have a new photo taken.
OK, I get it, it had been probably over a decade since the last time I did those things. I lived in one of the largest cities in the state. The soonest I could make an appointment was about 2 weeks after my license was set to expire. Nice.
So I made an appointment in a nearby city, about a 50 mile round trip. It was still a major pain, long lines and about a two hour wait. And surly DMV employees to boot. But a couple of years ago I moved to a small mountain town here. I wanted to have my license updated to show my new address. I made an appointment at the closest DMV branch in a small town "down the hill". The branch was so small it was located in a strip mall. I was in, filled out the paperwork, had a new photo taken and was out in less than 10 minutes. You could have knocked me over with a feather after my nightmarish experiences with DMV branches for several decades in large Sou. Cal. cities.
OK, I get it, it had been probably over a decade since the last time I did those things. I lived in one of the largest cities in the state. The soonest I could make an appointment was about 2 weeks after my license was set to expire. Nice.
So I made an appointment in a nearby city, about a 50 mile round trip. It was still a major pain, long lines and about a two hour wait. And surly DMV employees to boot. But a couple of years ago I moved to a small mountain town here. I wanted to have my license updated to show my new address. I made an appointment at the closest DMV branch in a small town "down the hill". The branch was so small it was located in a strip mall. I was in, filled out the paperwork, had a new photo taken and was out in less than 10 minutes. You could have knocked me over with a feather after my nightmarish experiences with DMV branches for several decades in large Sou. Cal. cities.
haven't been in a Texas dmv since I moved here 12 years ago.
All my transactions have been handled either online or at the grocery store HEB. Smartest thing ever was letting HEB run registration sticker print outs right at the customer service counter.
All my transactions have been handled either online or at the grocery store HEB. Smartest thing ever was letting HEB run registration sticker print outs right at the customer service counter.
Wow, smart move on the TX DOT to renew at HEB.
Go to HEB for a gallon of OJ and renew sticker.
They wouldn't unless they were dual citizenship. The rules for getting a passport are even more strict than a real ID I think. I guess they figure if you can get a passport than you must be who you really say you are!
I like you dreaded the whole real ID thing however it was quite possible the ONLY time something went smooth at the DMV for me here in PA. I don't think a celestial of this magnitude will happen again in my life time.
That explains everything I encountered about driving in VA. j/k
Went to a local post office with a couple of boxes to be shipped internationally. They see me walk in and immediately say to go away as they ain't doing international shipping at the time. Me suspects they just didn't feel like doing the additional paperwork for international shipping. The way of the current world I suspect.
I swear someone in PA would complain mine was done on a typewriter, cause ya know 1983 and all. "It looks fake!" "Did you print this out?"
I decided to upgrade to REAL ID . One of the documents that you could use was your Social Security Card . Fine . I sat down at the desk and the guy handed it back and said he couldn't accept it . It was the original card I got back in the 60's . It still said " Not to be used for Identification . "on the bottom . They have since removed it since so many people don't understand what that means anyway . He said " The new cards don't have that on it " . Well , no kidding . So if I had a new card without that statement you would take it ?" Yep ... Figure that one out ..
I think before you can be hired at the DMV, you must first complete a test that proves beyond a doubt, that you lack any detectable amount of common sense.
+2
I had heard so many horror stories about people getting their paperwork rejected for the vaguest of reasons, so I decided to get a passport instead of a Real ID. I am sure it turned out to be easier than dealing with the old biddies that work for the State of Illinois. I even took my own photo for the passport, despite recommendations saying not to on the passport website (I'm a good photographer, though, so I knew how to take one appropriate for the task). The only hiccup came to my birth certificate - all I had was a copy made from microfilm way back when I was a baby, and it was about 2" by 3" in size. So I had to order a new copy and I wound up having to ask for it twice because they spelled my middle name wrong the first time and I had to send it back.
