There are a lot of questions floating around about Real ID and what Louisiana residents need to do if they want to get one. Newell invited Matthew Boudreaux onto the show Wednesday morning to explain - Boudreaux is the Public information Officer for the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles.
“Matthew, this Real ID law was passed by Congress back in 2013,” Newell began. “What is a real ID?”
“It is a driver's license or an ID card that will double as a federally accepted form of identification,” Boudreaux said. “The deadline to have one is October 1st of this year. It can be used to board domestic flights within the United States, to enter secure federal facilities like military bases and federal courthouses... you're going to need a real ID if you want to continue to use your driver's license or your ID card to board domestic flights within the United States. The deadline is coming fast, so we want people to be aware and be ‘Real ID Ready.’ Who knows when you might have to jump on a flight, it might be an emergency, might be something for work. We want people to be prepared and be aware of what Real ID is and how you get it.”
“Matthew, when we say federal facilities, a lot of folks don't really understand what that is. So a federal courthouse would be one, right?”
“Yeah, federal courthouses, military bases, nuclear plants… but not post offices. Not any place that you would apply for federal or state benefits, nowhere you would need ID to vote. The cards can not be used to cross the border into Canada or Mexico. They can't be used for international sea cruise travel. It's not a replacement for a passport.”
“I know Louisiana has asked for a number of extensions over the past several years for this. Where do we stand with that now?” Newell asked.
“It's locked into October 1st of this year, and you're right, it has been extended,” Boudreaux said. “It was supposed to be October of 2020, but it was extended for COVID... we're reaching out to people to let them know that it's time to get ready.”
“Do we know how many people have actually transitioned over to Real IDs in the state of Louisiana?”
“It's not as many as we'd like to see, because we know that people are going to need them and there's going to be a mad rush,” Boudreaux said. “As you probably know, a lot of our offices are by appointment only, especially in the New Orleans area. So it might take a week or two to even get an appointment to get an ID. If you can plan ahead, we encourage people to visit our website ExpressLane.org and find out what you need. If you have a current Louisiana driver's license, you'll need that, along with an original birth certificate or certified copy, also a social security card, that would take care of your identity, lawful status, date of birth and social security information. Then you would also need two documents with proof of residence.”
Hear the entire interview in the audio player below.
