If your driver's license doesn't have the star, you may need to act quickly

Twenty-one years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States is finally getting ready to implement more secure ID requirements for air travel and secure federal facilities.

The REAL ID was passed by Congress in 2005 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. REAL ID, a way to more securely verify identities and addresses, has been delayed for many years, but it will be required beginning May 3, 2023.

Wayne Goodwin, commissioner of the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, received his REAL ID on Monday at the East License Branch in Raleigh, where a question-and-answer session was held.

Goodwin said it wasn't a difficult process. He recommends making an advance appointment and remembering all documents.

"We now have 35 driver license offices statewide that are opening an extra hour early, so that you can make plans to apply for and receive your REAL ID or to renew your driver's license in general," said Goodwin.

The process to obtain a REAL ID is much like the process to get a regular driver’s license, but more documents are required.

Most people will need at least four items:

In addition, if the name on your birth certificate no longer matches your current name, you'll need proof of your name change. A certified marriage license, divorce decree and/or court document indicating the name change will be accepted. (The number of documents you'll need depends on the number of name changes.)

Anyone with an international marriage license, or someone who is lacking proof of a name change, will need to fill out a name change affidavit at the DMV and have it notarized by a DMV examiner. The name change affidavit costs $2.00 and only take a few minutes to fill out.

Goodwin said not everyone will need a real ID as of May 2023, including those who don’t plan to fly anywhere or enter a military base or federal courthouse or prison.

"If you don't plan on doing those things, then your regular identification, whether it's a driver's license or an ID, will still be valid," said Goodwin.

Those who have a current passport do not need a REAL ID. Children under 18 will not be required to have a REAL ID to fly, only adults.

Even with an appointment, be prepared to wait. The DMV already doesn't have enough staff to handle its everyday business and REAL ID will make the problem worse.

Goodwin said the agency is doing everything it can to hire more workers, including increasing pay. They're also working on getting wait times at branches posted online so people can find out before they go.