The REAL ID deadline has arrived: WA residents face 2+ hour-long DOL wait times

The deadline for a REAL ID is today, and wait times at the Department of Licensing (DOL) are consistently multiple hours long across the Puget Sound region.

“That’s crazy because the other day it was going all the way in the back, so I had to leave,” Anthony Williams told KIRO 7. “I wasn’t going to stay in line.”

“I’m nervous,” Shane Klemisch added. “I have to fly Friday.”

By May 7, Washington residents will need to have a REAL ID—a state-issued driver’s license or ID card with enhanced security standards outlined by the REAL ID Act of 2005. That act was enacted based on the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the federal government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses.”

For those trying to fly without one after May 7, passengers could face delays, additional screening, or be turned away from airport security, according to TSA.

“Passengers traveling after this enforcement deadline should either travel with an acceptable alternative form of ID, like a passport, or enroll for a state-issued REAL ID through their state DMV offices,” the TSA stated.

REAL ID-compliant identification cards are marked with a star, usually black or gold, on the top right corner. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated, at a minimum, people must provide documentation that includes your full legal name, your date of birth, your Social Security number, two proofs of address, and lawful immigration status.

TSA doesn’t require children under 18 to have a REAL ID when they are traveling with companions.

To add to the frustration, scheduling a DOL appointment is becoming increasingly harder as some locations are booked for up to 60 days.

“We don’t know when we’ll see some relief at our driver licensing offices in the foreseeable future,” Thomas Charlson, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Licensing, told KIRO 7. “We do have appointments booked out either 45 or 60 days in advance in our urban areas.”

One person told KIRO 7 News that his wife had waited more than five hours in line to get her enhanced driver’s license at the Arlington DOL office.

“I couldn’t believe it frankly. I thought it (the line) was to the end of the building and ‘Oh, that will be OK,’ and I came around to the end of the building, and it’s around off the other end of the building. It’s around the back in the alley,” Carol Hackman said.

Other forms of acceptable IDs

There are other forms of ID that can get passengers aboard a flight. State-issued enhanced driver’s licenses (EDL) or enhanced IDs (EID), a U.S. passport or a U.S. passport card, DHS trusted traveler cards, U.S. Department of Defense ID (including IDs issued to dependents), a permanent resident card, a border crossing card, photo IDs issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe, including Enhanced Tribal Cards, a HSPD-12 PIV card, a foreign government-issued passport, a transportation worker identification credential, a U.S. citizenship and immigration services employment authorization card (I-766), a U.S. merchant mariner credential, or a veteran health identification card (VHIC).

The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) has confirmed it is prepared to help travelers get on their flights without a REAL ID by offering other identity verification procedures. TSA will even accept expired forms of the above-mentioned IDs by up to two years.

It takes up to 10 business days for the DOL to mail out the new, REAL IDs.

Contributing: KIRO 7

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