REAL ID Deadline Extended Again For Georgia, Rest Of Nation

GEORGIA — U.S. residents will have an additional 19 months to get their REAL ID after the Department of Homeland Security delayed the requirement for air travelers to have a REAL ID-compliant form of identification by Oct. 1.

The deadline has been postponed until May 3, 2023, for Georgia and all other states. Officials said the new delay is due to the pandemic, which is making it harder for people to get into state motor vehicle departments and get the new IDs. Fewer than 50 percent of Americans have obtained their REAL ID.

The REAL ID Act was passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to establish minimum security standards for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards. The Department of Homeland Security initially postponed the enforcement date for REAL ID from Oct. 1, 2020, to Oct. 1, 2021, in response to COVID-19.

"Extending the Real ID full enforcement deadline will give states needed time to reopen their driver's licensing operations and ensure their residents can obtain a Real ID-compliant license or identification card," DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

Real ID compliant cards are issued after a more thorough check of an applicant's identification and incorporate new security features that make them harder to counterfeit. Under the Real ID Act, passed by Congress after the 9/11 attacks of 2001, travelers 18 or older wanting to board an airplane by using a driver's license for identification must have one that conforms with the law's stricter requirements.

On Twitter, Americans reacted to the new delay by urging the federal government to ditch the REAL ID program entirely.

"They should just scrap the Real ID altogether. The document requirements for getting one are difficult or even impossible for many people (especially older and/or poor) to obtain," one person said.

Another person tweeted: "My Real ID is gonna expire before it's actually required."

REAL ID for Georgia Residents

In Georgia, any driver’s license issued after 2012 is REAL ID compliant and will have either a black or gold star in the upper right-hand corner.

If you don’t already have a REAL ID-compliant license or ID — or if you hold an out-of-state or foreign driver’s license — you’ll have to visit a Georgia Department of Driver Services customer service center to apply for one.

Bring these documents with you:

• One identity document to prove who you are. Examples include:
  • Certified birth certificates. You can obtain a certified birth certificate from the hospital where you born.
  • U.S. passports
  • Certificates of Naturalization
  • Form I-551, or permanent-resident cards
• Your Social Security card
• Two residency documents that show you live in Georgia, such as a utility or phone bill. The documents must:
  • show a street address
  • Be dated within the past six months.

View the complete list of Real ID Documents required in Georgia, or download one of these printable Real ID checklists:

• US Citizens Printable Checklist
• Non-US Citizens Printable Checklist

In addition, papers may be required to document a name or gender change if what you have doesn’t reflect your current status. Visit the Georgia Department of Driver Services’ website for more information.

The DHS said it is continuing to work with all U.S. states and the District of Columbia to implement REAL ID Act requirements. For more information on REAL ID, visit www.dhs.gov/real-id.

Patch staff writer Mark Hand contributed to this article.