Beginning today, your old-school ID won't fly - literally. The federal government's REAL ID enforcement has officially taken off, which means passengers aged 18 and over must present a REAL ID-compliant form of identification to get through TSA checkpoints for U.S. flights. Don't panic if you forgot - alternatives such as passports and military IDs will still get you through. As reported in a bulletin by the Oregon Department of Transportation, Governor Kotek has marked May 7 as "REAL ID Day" in Oregon, emphasizing that the REAL ID aims to up the ante on the security and consistency of U.S. identification documents.
For anyone hoping to breeze through airport security quickly, bear in mind that if your ID isn't up to snuff, you could face extra screening and delays. The TSA will let non-compliant travelers know they're not meeting the mark, possibly herding them to extra screening areas, even if they're PreCheck-qualified. As it stands, Oregon's seeing a 38.1% REAL ID compliance rate among its population, leaving a lot of room for improvement, according to ODOT.
The run-up to this enforcement deadline has surged at Oregon DMV offices, with over 225,000 REAL IDs dished out since January. Recent weeks have specifically shown a leap in demand, with REAL IDs accounting for 76% of in-office credential issuances. "The 2017 Oregon State Legislature authorized Oregon DMV to issue credentials that meet requirements of the federal REAL ID Act," Oregon DMV Administrator Amy Joyce told the Oregon Department of Transportation's bulletin. "In the eight years since and over the course of three enforcement extensions, our focus has been to inform and educate Oregonians about REAL ID so they can choose the ID that works best for them."
Don't forget, there's a $30 surcharge for the REAL ID on top of the usual fees for ID, licensure, or renewal. And after you've applied at the DMV, there's a waiting period of up to three weeks for your REAL ID to arrive by mail. In the meantime, TSA won't accept the temp paper ID the DMV hands out, so plan accordingly.
