California DMV Offices Close For Real ID Training

CALIFORNIA — The California Department of Motor Vehicles announced a statewide employee training to take place Wednesday morning that will push back the beginning of operating hours at all DMV offices to 1 p.m. The training will prepare more than 5,000 DMV employees to efficiently process incoming REAL ID applications, which are more complex and take more time, DMV officials said.

Beginning Oct. 1, 2020, the federal government will require passengers flying in the U.S. to present a REAL ID-compliant driver's license or identification card before boarding a plane. They will also be required to enter other federal facilities such as military bases.

As the enforcement date approaches, DMV offices are receiving an increasingly high volume of REAL ID applications combined with a regular summer surge of new drivers seeking licenses.

"The unprecedented complexity of the REAL ID requirements is what led to the idea that we needed to take the extraordinary step of closing DMV offices for a short time to make sure all employees have consistent information in order to complete the transactions successfully," California Government Operations Agency Secretary Marybel Batjer said in a statement.

DMV call centers at (800) 777-0133 will remain open during the half-day office closure. Online transactions and the DMV's self-service kiosks at grocery stores and libraries will also be available.

—Bay City News