Do Californians need a REAL ID by October 2018 or 2020?
The California Department of Motor Vehicles says:
There is no need to rush into a DMV field office. Until October 1, 2020, a valid California driver license or ID card can be used for federal purposes, including boarding a domestic flight and entering military bases or secure federal facilities. After that date, only a REAL ID card or other federally approved documents will be accepted, such as a U.S. passport, passport card or military ID.
However, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says (in combination with here):
California has an extension for REAL ID enforcement, allowing Federal agencies to accept driver's licenses and identification cards from California at Federal facilities, nuclear power plants and federally regulated commercial aircraft until October 10, 2018.
...
When a state's extension expires, the state is subject to the statutory prohibition against Federal acceptance for Federal purposes of the state's driver's licenses and identification cards.
2018 is not quite 2020, so I guess the question is obvious... which government is lying?!?
Update (January 2019):
In November, questions emerged about whether the state’s REAL IDs were compliant with federal regulations and whether the agency could meet a Jan. 10 deadline for certification. The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday granted the state agency a last-minute extension to meet those requirements, despite the government shutdown, extending California’s deadline to April 1.
Best Answer
Given the very recent extension by DHS to CA DMV, replace below October 10, 2018 with April 1, 2019
The "short answer" above is generally correct, but with one caveat: Once the current set of extensions expire on October 10, 2018 (October 18 is a typo), all "extension" states will move into an "under review" status which provides a "grace period" before Real ID is enforced. There are three possible outcomes of this review:
- If the state is already issuing Real IDs (like California), once any outstanding issues are resolved DHS will certify it as compliant. 33 states and DC are already certified as compliant; the deadline in those states is 100% certain: October 1, 2020. (Some states are issuing only Real IDs to most drivers, but many if not most make it optional like California.)
- If DHS is satisfied with the state's progress, it will issue another one-year extension to October 10, 2019 when the process will begin again. (The annual extension after that will be the last one, to the final Real ID enforcement date of October 1, 2020.) Most of the 17 states & five territories currently in this status either already issue Real IDs (like California) or plan to start issuing them in 2019, though Oregon won't issue them till 2020 (just before the deadline).
- If neither of the above happens, per https://www.dhs.gov/state-extensions (as of September 10): "States that do not receive an extension are subject to REAL ID Enforcement on January 22, 2019." So far, the only jurisdiction to have had Real ID imposed at the airport was American Samoa; but that territory just got its extension to October 2019. (Four or five other states had Real ID imposed at Federal facilities & nuclear plants prior to 2018, but they all got extensions before TSA was brought in this year. Other states were threatened with it in 2017 if their legislatures didn't pass enabling legislation, but all did.)
So the short answer is October 1, 2020. If the state can't prove to DHS that it's on the road to full compliance by then, that deadline could be moved up to January 2019 (or around January 2020 if it doesn't get the final extension), but that is highly unlikely. I'd say October 1, 2020 is 100% certain in certified compliant states, 99.9% certain in states already issuing them but not yet certified compliant (like California), and 99% certain in the remaining states.
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Do I need a REAL ID to fly in 2020 in California?
Do you need a REAL ID? Beginning May 3, 2023, passengers who want to continue to use their driver license or ID card to board a domestic flight will need to show a federal compliant REAL ID driver license or ID card with a special marking.Did California REAL ID get extended?
Starting May 3, 2023, a California REAL ID will need to be added to your driver's license or existing ID card to continue using it as federally accepted identification. Besides needing it to enter certain federal buildings REAL ID can also be used as identification to board flights.Is it mandatory to get REAL ID in California?
Do I have to get a REAL ID? No. A REAL ID driver's license or identification card is optional.Is REAL ID optional in California?
At that time, REAL ID or a passport will be required to board a domestic flight or enter some federal facilities. Californians must visit a DMV office to get a first-time REAL ID, but an applicant doesn't need an appointment if the documents have been submitted online beforehand.California Real ID requirements explained
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Scott Webb, Binyamin Mellish, Jens Mahnke, Curtis Adams