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PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio 1020 KDKA) — After countless extensions, PennDOT is set to begin issuing REAL ID driver's licenses Friday.
Customers who have had their documents pre-verified can start applying for the federal-compliant IDs online.
Pennsylvanians who still need to be verified through federal standards can do so two ways.
“You can bring your documents and apply for REAL ID at any … PennDOT Driver License Centers around the whole state,” PennDOT Community Relations Coordinator Alexis Campbell told KDKA Radio.
“The difference is that if you go to a REAL ID Center, you’ll walk out the door with your REAL ID card in your hand that day.”
Those who apply at Driver License Centers will have their ID mailed within 15 business days.
Applicants that have not been pre-verified will need to provide proof of identity, social security number, current Pennsylvania address and any legal name changes. See a full list of accepted documentation here.
New REAL IDs will require a one-time $30 fee and PennDOT’s driver’s license renewal fee.
“No matter where you are in your renewal cycle, we’re going to renew you,” Campbell said. “You’ll get to keep the time that’s still on your current license and then we’ll add four years to it.”
She says the online application process is similar to renewing a license.
They will look similar to the newly redesigned Pennsylvania driver’s licenses, but will be marked with a gold star in the upper right corner.
REAL IDs are not required for drivers in Pennsylvania, but will be required to board airplanes or enter federal buildings beginning Oct. 1, 2020.
Anyone without a REAL ID after this date will need to provide another form of accepted identification like a passport.
The REAL ID Act was enacted in 2005 to regulate authentication and security procedure standards for state drivers’ licenses over terrorism and immigration concerns.
Several states, including Pennsylvania, have been granted numerous extensions from the initial required compliance date of May 11, 2008.
Campbell says a 2012 state law disallowing Pennsylvania from participating in the REAL ID Act had to be repealed before PennDOT could begin implementing the process. The state legislature repealed that law in 2017.
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