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Is your driver’s license emblazoned with star-in-a-gold-circle REAL ID? If not, you’re certainly not alone. Honolulu’s Department of Customer Services said this week that more than 50% of Oahu motorists have yet to secure REAL ID status.
What’s more, nationwide, according to a recent survey commissioned by the U.S. Travel Association, almost three out of four Americans are unprepared for full implementation of the REAL ID Act — passed by Congress in 2005 as a means to stepping up security measures tied to state-issued personal ID.
Effective Oct. 1, 2020, anyone planning to flash a driver’s license or state ID card as proof of identification to board an airplane or enter a federal building or military base, will need REAL ID. Other options include a passport, passport card and trusted traveler identification like Global Entry.
Noting that only about 42 percent of Americans hold passports, the nonprofit Travel Association is worried that at this time next year millions missing the deadline will be prevented from boarding flights. How to avoid potential confusion and chaos? Don’t procrastinate.
Both Hawaii ID cards and driver’s licenses can be renewed up to six months prior to the expiration date, and an appointment to renew a license can be booked six months in advance. City Councilman Ron Menor has introduced a welcome resolution urging Honolulu Hale to develop a community outreach program. The Hawaii Tourism Authority should follow suit.
Also, Menor will be on hand to discuss REAL ID today at an event dubbed “Celebrate Safe Communities” at Pearlridge Wai Makai (formerly Pearlridge Downtown), 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
