New, Updated Changes For NJ Driver's Licenses, REAL ID Wait Times

NEW JERSEY – The Motor Vehicle Commission is making weekly changes and updates to its driver's license and REAL ID system now that wait times are reportedly as long as three months. The agency also has more than twice as many places to get one – 17 – than it had a month ago (see list below).

The MVC said it is expanding its services every week and adding appointments as quickly as the "next day" – not three months, according to William Connolly, a spokesman for the agency.

Connolly was responding to an NJAdvance Media report that only two agencies had appointments available before Feburary 2020. The spokesman said the department is adding new appointment slots "all the time" as the MVC's phased-in rollout of REAL ID continues.

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

• The MVC is adding two to three agencies every week (except for the week between Christmas and New Year’s).
• 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."

Connolly said all of these things "allow us to add more REAL ID appointments every day or so." Emails are sent to customers who have signed up for notifications at REALIDNJ.COM as the MVC adds agencies.

"So, as we have said, if there are no appointments available as of today, there may be some tomorrow," he said. "We also provide customers the opportunity to see locations other than their closest agency, and to make appointments wherever they find an opening."

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

The MVC now has 17 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
• Manahawkin
• Medford
• South Brunswick
• Springfield
• Somerville
• South Plainfield
• Trenton
• West Deptford

In addition, the MVC has one agency in testing.

"The MVC is always adding REAL ID appointment slots, so customers should keep trying," Connolly said. "In fact, we booked over 600 new appointments" in one day two weeks ago.

The news comes two 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. New Jersey has had an extension to comply with the federal regulations mandating the issuance of REAL IDs by Oct. 10.

After that, 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.

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 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.

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

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 month, had not yet provided REAL IDs. The federal government has 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.
• The MVC did not disclose which agency will offer REAL ID next, after Trenton. Four others will undergo testing, but Fulton did not disclose them.
• 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.