REAL ID To Begin In New Jersey: What To Know

New Jersey is gearing up for REAL-ID now that the deadline for compliance is a month away.

New Jersey has asked for another extension for REAL ID enforcement that would allow federal agencies to accept driver's licenses and identification cards from New Jersey at federal facilities, nuclear power plants and federally regulated commercial aircraft until October 2019.

The current deadline is Oct. 10, 2018. Motor Vehicle Commission Chief Administrator Sue Fulton said New Jersey expects to begin the phase-in to REAL ID during the first quarter of next year, though she didn't provide specifics.

The hard deadline is Oct. 1, 2020, meaning that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is not expected to grant extensions after that.

“New Jersey is on track to complete our REAL ID program," she said. "As agreed with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, we have submitted our project plan and our request for an extension to October 2019."

If New Jersey isn't granted an extension, then current state driver’s licenses would not be a valid form of identification at any federal facility, including military bases, or for going through security at airports.

"We are planning system upgrades that will improve service to New Jersey drivers in advance of the REAL ID implementation, and thus have requested the additional extension," Fulton said.

The phase-in could likely be similar to what's going on Pennsylvania, where residents can bring their REAL-ID documentation into any PennDOT driver license center for pre-verification.

There, once REAL-IDs debut in March 2019, customers who have been pre-verified can apply for their new ID online and will not have to return to the dreaded driver license center.

New Jersey has had a few extensions largely because it has been making system technology improvements to meet requirements of the REAL ID act. Those steps have included:

• 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.

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