REAL ID Deadline For NJ In 2020: What To Know For Your Long Wait

NEW JERSEY – New Jersey continues to make changes and expand services now that drivers' licenses and state IDs must be REAL ID compliant by late 2020. If you're a New Jersey resident, you need to eventually get a REAL ID if you plan to fly anywhere in the U.S. on or after Oct. 1, 2020.

The Motor Vehicle Commission says it's continuing to update the REAL ID system now that wait times are reportedly as long as two months. Indeed, the agency also has five more places to get one – 22 – than it had a month ago (see list below).

The MVC said it's also continuously adding more appointment slots at REALIDNJ.com as it rolls out more agencies that offer REAL ID services, according to William Connolly, a spokesman for the agency.

Read more: REAL ID Guide For NJ: Do This Before Oct. 1, 2020 (UPDATED)

Connolly was responding to a recent NJAdvance Media report saying you can't get a REAL ID appointment before St Patrick's Day.

Connolly said that, since December 1, the MVC has added 4,606 new appointment slots that weren’t previously available – some of which were scheduled just this past week.

"If a customer is unable to make an appointment for REAL ID," he said, "they should check back in a day or so for any new appointments that are added."

Here's how the MVC is also addressing concerns about wait times:

• The MVC has agencies offering appointments at the rate of about 2-3 per week
• The MVC continues to add appointment slot availability "as we move closer to issuing REAL ID in all 39 MVC agencies," Connolly said.
• The MVC is steadily validating test agencies to go fully operational.
• The MVC is adding camera stations to operational agencies.
• The MVC employees "are processing REAL IDs faster as time goes by."

Since the launch of the agency's phased rollout of REAL ID in September, Connolly said, the MVC has sought to manage volume and has added capacity.

"Above all, we did not want to make the same mistakes we saw in some other states where customers were drawn to agencies unable to handle the demand for REAL ID, and long agency wait times followed, he said.

Connolly has acknowledged that there is more demand than appointment slots, and "this is as we expected," he said.

The MVC now has 22 agencies that are fully compliant and issuing REAL IDs by appointment. Those agencies are:

• Bayonne
• Camden
• Cherry Hill
• Delanco
• East Orange
• Eatontown
• Flemington
• Freehold
• Hazlet
• Jersey City
• Manahawkin
• Medford
• North Bergen
• South Brunswick
• South Plainfield
• Springfield
• Runnemede
• Somerville
• Salem
• Trenton
• Turnersville
• West Deptford

In addition, the MVC has three agencies in testing.

The news also comes three months after Sue Fulton, chief administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission, revealed what you need to know to start the process of obtaining the REAL ID.

"Just a reminder: You can only get REAL ID by appointment, and you get an appointment by signing up at REALIDNJ.com," Fulton said.

After several delays, the MVC was staring down at a deadline to make the driver's license changes available to the public.

MVC employees have been training and getting familiar with the new systems that are intended to help put REAL IDs in place, officials say, and the MVC has had to fix a lot of bugs.

New Jersey originally had hoped to roll out REAL IDs, which will bring big changes to your driver's license, by the end of May or early June 2019.

But the delays happened because the MVC was undergoing computer software testing to "ensure that the systems are working as expected and that our employees are properly trained," MVC spokesman Jim Hooker said.

"These were not yet available to the general public because, as we have said, we owe it to our customers to ensure that we do this right," Hooker has said. "We have 6 million drivers in New Jersey, and no one knows how many of them will want a REAL ID.”

New Jersey was one of four states that, until last fall, had not yet provided REAL IDs. The federal government granted extensions to New Jersey, Maine, Oklahoma and Oregon to comply.

The state also has developed another list of things you need to know. Bottom line: Getting one won't be as easy as you might have thought (see list of things you need to know below).

And even with the eventual rollout, the Motor Vehicle Commission is expecting a lot of long lines to get the new REAL ID driver's license, which has a gold star on it.

New Jersey officials say they're still working hard to develop an orderly transition that won't create too many of the inevitable long lines that have happened in the 40-plus states that have already issued REAL IDs.

Fulton acknowledged that New Jersey was slow in setting up the process to obtain a REAL ID, but "we are on track to become the most successful in the country."

She said the technological systems in place were not adequate or updated enough to begin the process, suggesting that the Chris Christie administration had not done enough to get the MVC ready.

Here is what else you must know:

• Fulton said the rollout will still be "phased-in," but you can start the process of obtaining a REAL ID right now.
• The only way to get the REAL ID right now is by appointment.
• You need to make an appointment by going to https://www.realidnj.com and filling out a short form.
• You will get an email asking if you want to participate in the testing at the eight agencies after you sign up.
• Once the MVC determines that the REAL ID works at an agency, that agency will offer it to anybody.
• Obtaining a REAL ID at an agency should take about 20 minutes.
• To get a REAL ID, you need to bring two proofs of residential address, one proof of your Social Security number and six points of ID.
• The REAL ID looks like your traditional New Jersey driver license or ID, but with a gold star in the upper right corner. The standard driver's license or ID looks similar, but instead of a gold star, it will have the words NOT FOR “REAL ID” PURPOSES written on it. Both the REAL ID driver's license and the standard driver's license are valid for driving. Here is what it will look like:

• There will be an $11 fee associated with changing your standard NJ driver's license or non-driver ID to a REAL ID if not done at renewal.
• You will eventually get a REAL ID driver's license or non-driver ID prior to the expiration of your current driver's license or ID by visiting any New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Agency. This REAL ID driver's license or ID will expire upon your current expiration date.
• You are not required to get a REAL ID. However, starting Oct. 1, 2020, if you typically use your driver's license or non-driver ID (instead of a passport or other form of ID) to fly domestically, you probably want a REAL ID. Otherwise, you will need to use other acceptable identification such as a valid U.S. passport or military ID. The standard New Jersey driver's license can still be used for driving.
• REAL IDs are best for those who typically use their driver's license or non-driver ID (instead of a passport or other forms of ID) to fly domestically.
• If your current driver's license or non-driver ID expires after Sept. 30, 2020, you can wait until renewal time. After that date, you'll need to use a passport or another form of acceptable identification for domestic air travel if you haven’t changed to a REAL ID driver license or ID.
• It is a federal requirement for security purposes that MVC scan the documents and keep them securely stored in an encrypted format.
• Your identification documents will be verified and, under certain circumstances, shared with the federal government. You can find out more by visiting the website https://www.realidnj.com.
• The MVC recommends you visit the agency during the middle of the month to potentially reduce your waiting time.
• The MVC will be adding more online services so drivers don’t have to visit an agency for certain transactions, such as renewing a standard driver's license or non-driver ID. So check the website to see if you can skip the trip to the MVC.
• The MVC is increasing staffing so it can serve people more quickly if you have to come to the agency in person. If you are getting a REAL ID for the first time, you will have to visit an MVC agency.