Kevin's Watch

Looks like it's 7 years in NM.

You wanna talk driver's license renewal bonanzas? Wait 'til Real ID goes into effect everywhere in the US. Sooo many people will have to do the extra paperwork to be able to use their driver's license to fly. Glad I went through the rigamarole when I first moved out here two years ago.

I got the Real ID last year when I renewed. Since I have a passport it was easier. I had to wait a few days for the id to be mailed to me, they couldn’t be issued onsite.

Having a passport meant that I also really didn’t need a real ID. But, what the heck.

Though for my old job I’d occasionally have to bring my passport with me, if I was visiting a company that did defense work. I could probably use a real ID for that now.

Now that I think about it, probably Real ID is mandated everywhere if you want to use your driver's license to fly. Virginia was grandfathered in until something like October 2020, but I was in NM by then.

Real ID supposed to be in effect a couple of years ago but they extended the deadline to sometime next year because of the pandemic. Illinois was one of the last 5 states to become compliant.