Deadline for REAL ID

REAL ID will be required after May 7, 2025
REAL ID will be required beginning May 7, 2025 Photo credit SCDMV Facebook Page

This year REAL ID will be required to keep within federal accordance...

Beginning May 7, 2025, a REAL ID will be required for all 50 states and U.S. territories.

According to the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles website,  "your South Carolina driver's license or identification card must have a gold star to show it's a REAL ID in order to use it as your identification to board a domestic, commercial flight, enter a secure federal building, or visit a military installation."

Sample of REAL ID. A gold star on your license or ID designates it as a REAL ID. If your license or ID does not have a gold star, it will have a message stating "Not for Federal Identification" and is not compliant with REAL ID. Photo credit SCDMV

A REAL ID is not needed to drive, vote, apply for benefits, hospitalization or enter a federal facility that does not require an ID - such as the post office.

Documentation is needed in order to obtain a REAL ID for proof of identity, physical address and legal name. Documents to support the requirements include birth certificate or unexpired U.S. passport plus two forms of physical address proof such as a current SC drivers license or ID card and utility bill. To prove a legal name change, one must present a marriage license, divorce decree, or court order issued by your county's probate or family court. To read more about documents needed, click HERE.

Originally the deadline for REAL ID was summer of 2008, but due to some states unwillingness, funding issues and the Covid-19 pandemic, it was pushed back to this year, 2025.

Featured Image Photo Credit: SCDMV Facebook Page