You Have Extra Time To Get That Gold Star On Your License

Because DMVs are closed and it's harder to get a driver's license right now, they've extended the Real ID deadline by a whole year.  But they still don't think everyone can get it done on time.

Airline passengers will have to have a Real ID to board a domestic flight when the new law fully goes into effect.

The Department of Homeland Security said recently that because of the coronavirus situation, they were extending the deadline, and instead of October 1 of this year, we've got until October 1, 2021, to become Real ID-compliant.  The federal government wants us all to focus on staying home and staying safe right now instead of crowding into state offices to do business.  And rightly so.

With Dept. of Motor Vehicles offices closed around the country, and because Real ID applications have to be done in person, there are some serious limits and potential delays that could come from all of this.  It may take some time for the backlog to unwind once we're able to get out and do things again.

The Washington Post said delaying the deadline a year could give the federal government time to implement changes that could speed up the process of issuing Real IDs, and we'll find out more about that when things start to open up.

The U.S. Travel Association thinks more than 67,000 people could be prevented from flying on the first day of that the Real ID law goes into effect, and about a half-million people the first week, based on the current numbers.

If you've got a gold star on the front of your license now, you're all set and there's nothing else you need to do.  But if your driver's license is older and doesn't have a gold star, you'll have to get it renewed within the next year and a half if you want to go on a post-lockdown plane ride.

There are many things we will need to get out and do once the coronavirus quarantine is over, and standing in line at the DMV may be one of them.