With a week left until U.S. airports enact new identification rules, the California Department of Motor Vehicles is advising people with valid passports that they can hold off getting Real ID.
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When the rules take effect May 7, a standard driver’s license will no longer be adequate to pass airport security checkpoints; a passenger will need a passport or a license or ID card with the Real ID certification.
“If you already have a current U.S. passport or don’t need to fly within the U.S. in the next few months, you can wait to get your Real ID until you renew your California driver’s license or ID,” DMV Director Steve Gordon said in a press release.
Some of the agency’s offices have reported long wait times as the deadline nears.
To accommodate the crunch, the DMV has instituted longer hours at certain offices.
The Bay Area offices that will have special hours from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, are:
San Jose, 111 W. Alma
Oakland, 5300 Claremont
Concord, 2070 Diamond Blvd.
And until June 27, these offices will add an extra hour, from 7 to 8 a.m., on every weekday except Wednesday:
Pleasanton, 6300 W. Las Positas Blvd.
Fremont, 4287 Central Ave.
The extended hours, whether on Saturday or on weekday mornings, are designated for Real ID applications only and they require an appointment.
An applicant should start the process online at the DMV’s website, then bring the identity and proof-of-address documents to a DMV office to complete it. If the online application is done, the office portion should take only abut 15 minutes, the DMV said.
For those intending to go to a DMV office for a task other than getting Real ID, the agency recommends checking to see if it can be completed online.
More about Real ID:
• What if I go to the airport without Real ID?
• Can California’s Real ID be used as proof of U.S. citizenship?
• What documents do I need to get Real ID?
• Everything you need to know about the Real ID deadline