This N.J. Driver's License Change Could Impact Your Life In 2016, Fair Lawn

A change has been made regarding driver’s licenses that could impact your life in 2016 - and perhaps force you get a new N.J. license.

The state must have its drivers’ licenses meet national proof-of-identity requirements this year - but it was given a nine-month extension to do so.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently extended the state’s exemption for Real ID requirements from Jan. 10 to Oct. 10, Motor Vehicle Commission spokeswoman Mairin Bellack told News12 and The Associated Press.

The exemption allows state-issued drivers’ licenses and non-driver IDs essentially to be accepted at most federal facilities, including military bases.

The Homeland Security Department has said it plans to announce soon whether it will begin enforcing the Real ID requirements for airplane travel and airports. The department has said that it will provide at least 120-day advance notice before barring people from flights who have driver’s licenses from states that are noncompliant, according to CBS2.

Bellack told the news agencies that the state had its exemption extended because it is taking steps to meet requirements of the Real ID act. Those steps include:

• Allowing more than nine characters of a name to be included on a license; and
• Requiring people to have their photos taken immediately upon reaching the counter for a new license.

The 2005 Real ID act imposes stronger requirements for proof of legal U.S. residency in order for state driver’s licenses to be valid for federal purposes. The law was passed in response to national security concerns after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to the reports.

States originally were supposed to comply with the Real ID requirements by the end of 2009, but federal authorities have repeatedly delayed implementation to give time for states to change their driver’s license procedures and make the necessary technological modifications, according to the reports.