Don’t wait until last minute to apply for Real ID

Getting a Real ID doesn’t have to be a real pain in the butt.

But it will be if you wait until the last minute to get the needed paperwork.

You might be thinking, hey, I don’t think I need a Real ID I’ve got my driver’s license and vehicle registration. I’m not planning to fly to some other country.

Are you planning to fly anywhere within the United States? Are you planning to visit a service member on a military base? You’ll need a Real ID after Oct. 1, 2020. Plenty of time, right?

Let’s use an example, Jane Smith, a U.S. citizen. Jane’s got a copy of her birth certificate. She also has a current driver’s license and Pennsylvania vehicle registration card. She waits in line at a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation driver licensing center. However, the name on her driver’s license and vehicle registration is different from the name on her birth certificate, because she got married and took her husband’s last name.

Uh oh.

For starters, her birth certificate was not a certified copy, with a raised, embossed seal. She doesn’t have a certified marriage certificate to prove her legal name change. After waiting in line for several hours, Jane was told she’d have to come back with the proper documents.

“Citizens are becoming frustrated as they are trying to obtain the Real ID,” said Theresa Santai-Gaffney, Schuylkill County’s Register of Wills. “We’re offering them help, helping them get what’s necessary to obtain the Real ID.”

If a person hasn’t married or had a name change, and has the certified birth certificate, even then there can be problems. Let’s say that our citizen, Jane Smith, is Jane Ivy Smith — and that’s what is on her birth certificate. She didn’t like the middle name Ivy though, and on her driver’s license she is Jane I. Smith.

Uh oh.

“We’ve had cases where people added confirmation names, not given at birth, and just used those names and have that on their driver’s license,” Santai-Gaffney said. “The message is, be prepared — we are ready to help, and we have all the forms that you need to send for the proper documents.”

Santai-Gaffney said the most commonly requested document regarding the Real ID is a certified copy of a marriage license.

“If you are in need of a certified copy of your marriage license, please call us at 570-628-1377 or email us at cdormer@co.schuylkill.pa.us,” she said. “We can prepare it ahead of time for you.”

Beginning Oct. 1, 2020, Pennsylvanians will need a Real ID-compliant driver’s license, photo ID card, or another form of federally acceptable identification (such as a valid passport or military ID (to board a domestic commercial flight or enter a federal building or military installation that requires ID.

For more information, go to www.pa.gov/guides/real-id-pennsylvania.