REAL ID is Coming

[Terry Carraway]

Got mine also. My renewal was this past March. Not a big deal, passport, car registration, an electric bill, and W2 (for SSN). I also got my Veteran marking on it.

MD is rolling them out prior to expiration for people after 2020. Some people online are saying they will not bother, but the state has said that once you are scheduled for it, if you don't comply, they will suspend your license.

But did something strange, some people received REAL ID compliant renewal licenses, THEN had to show up at MVA to produce documents stating showing that you met the requirements to have one. ????????

[Scott Dyer HPN/NY]

I got mine ....

[Ray Tackett]

My home state, Pennsylvania, is one of the laggards which pushed the date back so far. PA just started issuing REAL ID a couple of months ago. They're telling people with passports or permanent resident ("green") cards to use those instead, and to wait for license expiration before upgrading the state ID. They're trying to spread out the inevitable rush. Good thing I have a passport. My license expires in 2022. Meanwhile, the city of Philadelphia is issuing city photo ID cards which are REAL ID compliant, so that people below the poverty line* don't have to pay state fees.

The main reason PA is so late is that there used to be a law which forbade the state from complying. It took years after the repeal of that law for the state government to figure out how to comply.

*Philadelphia has the second-highest large city poverty rate in the U.S., second to Detroit. In my neighborhood, Germantown, 25% of the population tries to live on HALF or less of the poverty line income. That's why I donate excess garden produce to, and volunteer at, one of the many soup kitchens.

[Bill Bridges]

REAL ID for use in airline travel is now October 1, 2020.

I'd forgot about this since I don't travel much any more.