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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Starting next Wednesday, May 7th, airline travelers will be required to have what they call a REAL ID in order to board even a domestic flight or enter a federal building in the United States. Now, for those of you scratching your heads thinking, "Where have I heard about the REAL ID before?" Well, the law mandating the change was actually passed two decades ago under the Bush administration as a response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, but the law kept getting delayed or implementation of it did, mostly due to political pushback.

With the deadline right around the corner, New Yorkers are scrambling to find appointments at the DMV to update their licenses. Media outlets are reporting long wait times for walk-ins around the state. Obviously, this is not just happening in New York, but there's that report. Joining us now is some news you can use on how to get a REAL ID is Walt McClure, director of public information for the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Walt, thanks so much for coming on. Welcome to WNYC.

Walt McClure: Thank you. Thanks for having us. Hopefully, I can give you some news you can use.

Brian Lehrer: Listeners, we imagine some of you might have REAL ID questions. Our phones are open at 212-433-WNYC, or you can text your question, 212-433-9692, or maybe you want to help us report the story. If you've recently tried to get a REAL ID, how did it go? Were you prepared? What documents did you need? How long was the wait time to get an appointment or were you able to just walk in? Help us report from on the ground if you've recently gotten or tried to get a REAL ID. 212-433-WNYC or, again, you can ask a question, 212-433-9692. Walt, remind us, why do we need these again?

Walt McClure: Well, obviously, this is a federal requirement, as you said, as part of the 9/11 Commission, to ensure that people who are getting onto planes or who are providing their identity are who they say they are. This is taking effect. The idea is that you would need to have a Real ID-compliant document as of May 7th to board a plane toward domestic flight or to get into certain federal facilities. I don't believe it's not every federal building. It would be some military bases, nuclear facilities, that kind of thing.

Brian Lehrer: I don't want to overstate that. You're not going to need it to get into federal office buildings where you might have some business to do?

Walt McClure: No. Not to my knowledge, no. The idea, and actually, I think this is a great way to do this, is to clear up some of the concerns about that. If you don't have a REAL ID now and you would know if you take out your wallet or your purse and you look at your license, if there is a star on it, you have a REAL ID. If there is a flag on it, that means you have an enhanced ID, which also allows you an opportunity to cross borders by land or by sea between the US and Canada and the US and Mexico and certain Caribbean countries without having to show a passport.

If you're flying into those places, of course, you would still need a passport. To fly domestically, if you have a passport or a passport book or a passport card or you're somebody who has global entry, you're all set. You don't need to update your ID, your license now. Certainly, if you're not up for renewal immediately or you don't have immediate travel plans, you don't have to rush into an office now. There is time. The REAL ID is not going anywhere. We've been offering it since 2017. We've been offering the enhanced license since 2008. You'll still be able to get it come May 8th.

Brian Lehrer: Right. Hopefully, if you don't have that or a passport, you don't have reservations to fly on May 8th. Who qualifies for a REAL ID? With all the immigration news these last few months, do you have to be a legal permanent resident, a citizen? Who can actually get one?

Walt McClure: Yes, that would be correct. There's information about that. I know it's all on the TSA site, but also on our website. That explains that. Yes, you have to have appropriate residency and be able to show that you are a legal resident of the US.

Brian Lehrer: What if you're a student visa holder, can you fly if you have a passport from your country of origin?

Walt McClure: Yes.

Brian Lehrer: That's what you would need?

Walt McClure: Right. That may be more of a TSA question to know exactly what-- Obviously, we're handling providing the IDs, but TSA has, I know on their website, a list of all the acceptable documentation that you could bring to get on a plane.

Brian Lehrer: We've been talking about REAL IDs. You also use the term "enhanced ID." I think Cheryl in Park Slope has a question about the difference between the two. Cheryl, you're on WNYC. Hello.

Cheryl: Hello. Can you hear me?

Brian Lehrer: I can hear you.

Cheryl: Hello? Okay, great. Yes, the question is what I have is an enhanced ID. Is that enough to get me on a domestic flight?

Walt McClure: Absolutely. Enhanced ID is a REAL ID-compliant document. Actually, I'm glad you brought that up because that is a question that we have gotten. I think people are concerned. They hear REAL ID and thinks it's something new, but no. An enhanced ID is as good and, in some ways, maybe better because, like I said, you can use it at border crossings. There's a little more processing involved in that. Yes, an enhanced ID is as good, if not better than a REAL ID.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you, Cheryl. Mike in Flatbush just went through this, I think. Mike, you're on WNYC. Hello.

Mike: Hi, Brian. Thanks for taking my call. Hello?

Brian Lehrer: Yes, happy to have you.

Mike: Oh yes, I just want to say. Well, first of all, my understanding is that the enhanced ID, you're able to get in and out of Canada and Mexico, or rather from the US to Canada, you still need a passport. When I asked the person at the DMV, essentially, she said that the difference between the REAL ID and the enhanced ID is that the $30 is a moneymaker for the government. Take that for what you will. You need a passport anyway to get in and out of Mexico.

Walt McClure: That's actually not true. That's not true. If you're flying, yes. If you're crossing the border by land or by car or by sea, you don't. I can tell you from personal experience. I myself went to Canada last summer with my enhanced ID and had drove across the border and had no issue in both directions.

Mike: Without a passport?

Walt McClure: Without a passport.

Mike: Oh okay. Well, that's good to know.

Walt McClure: If you have enhanced ID, that's the point, yes. The $30, it's not a money grab because there's more processing that's involved. In order to cover the cost of the processing, there's additional cost that was passed on.

Brian Lehrer: Right. How much is it? My recollection is that when I got my REAL ID the last time my driver's license expired, which was in 2019, that I was given a choice to get it or not or just get a "regular driver's license" at that time, but the REAL ID did cost more. That's the case?

Walt McClure: Yes, the REAL ID does cost more. It's $30 more than a "standard license," which would not work for you to get on a domestic flight or a REAL ID. The REAL ID, there's no additional cost other than your cost to renew or if it's your first time, what you're paying to get your license or permit or non-driver ID the first time.

Brian Lehrer: Rachel in Hawthorne, you're on WNYC. Hi, Rachel.

Rachel: Hi. My birth certificate lists my name as Rafaela. I have a marriage license with that name. I have a passport with that name, but my father wanted me to be American. He asked them how to say it in American and they said Rachel. All my degrees, all my diplomas, my Social Security, my tax and water bills, my electric bills, the deed to my home are all in Rachel. My legal name, even though I have a passport with Rafaela on it too and a picture, I don't know what to do because they said that I have to have more ID.

Brian Lehrer: Walt, can you help her?

Walt McClure: I would say bring everything that you have that shows the progression of your name. Have you already gone in to try to get a REAL ID?

Rachel: No, I haven't. No, I haven't.

Walt McClure: I would say to bring everything or what you have. Your license says Rachel, but your birth certificate does not?

Rachel: My birth certificate says Rachel. My license says Rachel. My marriage license and my passport, I have four things that say-- Oh, I'm sorry. Rafaela. Everything else is Rachel.

Brian Lehrer: Right, but let's clarify something. Walt, if you have a birth certificate-- Oh no, in her case, a marriage certificate and a passport with the same name, is that not enough--

Walt McClure: They match up with the name on your license?

Rachel: My marriage license also matches up with my birth certificate and my license.

Brian Lehrer: Your driver's license.

Walt McClure: Then that's okay. That shows the connection, yes.

Brian Lehrer: Rachel, go for it. What about for other people? There's this debate in politics now around the so-called SAVE Act in Congress, where Republicans are trying to require proof of citizenship to register to vote. People have to have a birth certificate or I guess a naturalization document or US passport. How much ID do you actually need when you go to DMV to get the REAL ID or the enhanced ID?

Walt McClure: Our website, there is a full information. We refer to it as a document guide that tells you what you need. You can go through it and decide, depending on what you're getting, how much you need. There's a point system as to what each of those documents are worth. If you have your current license, obviously, you'd bring that. Your birth certificate, your Social Security card, a utility bill, or a bank statement to show where you live and to show the residency in New York.

Brian Lehrer: If your birth certificate says one thing, but you have a married name that's now your legal name and they don't match, that's something that keeps coming up with respect to the SAVE Act. How does it apply here?

Walt McClure: Well, we have gotten some of these questions. That actually is a federal requirement that was put in place obviously as part of this. The only time somebody would need to show proof of a name change is if the supporting documentation has a different name. In the last case, Rachel's license has Rachel. Her birth certificate has Rachel. Her marriage certificate has Rachel. She's fine. If there's a situation where somebody's birth certificate has a different last name, that's where you run into issues. If you have supporting documentation that shows who you are to do that, then you're okay. If all the supporting documentation has the same name, then you don't need necessarily the backup.

Brian Lehrer: Listener asked, "Do kids of a certain age need REAL IDs?"

Walt McClure: This may also be a TSA question. I think if you're 16 or older, you would need one. It would be the same getting your--

Brian Lehrer: To fly.

Walt McClure: Yes, to fly. Under that, I don't think you have to, but there is an option. If you would like your child to have a non-driver ID and they're under 16, that is an option as a way to get them a chain of their identity going forward. I've heard a number of situations where people have gotten it for their younger children just so they have proof of who they are.

Brian Lehrer: All right, Walt McClure from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, answering a lot of your questions about REAL IDs required as of May 7th for airline travelers, even on domestic flights. Thank you very much for joining us.

Walt McClure: Thanks for having me.

Brian Lehrer: That's The Brian Lehrer Show for today. Stay tuned for All Of It.

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