Starting Wednesday, May 7, the federal government will require every person 18 years and older to present a REAL ID or an acceptable alternative—government-issued passport, passport card or military ID—to board a commercial US flight. REAL ID cards are marked with a star in the upper right corner. Oregon offers both standard issue and REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses, instruction permits and identification cards. If you aren’t flying soon, you can wait to get a REAL ID until it’s time to renew yours or use an acceptable alternative.
A REAL ID may be obtained at DMV offices, similar to applying for or renewing a driver’s license, with some additional documentation needed. The documents needed to apply for a REAL ID include proof of identity, proof of name, social security number and proof of address.
Even if you now have or have had a license, instruction permit or ID in Oregon, you will need to bring in documentation of your identity, date of birth and lawful status. If you are not a citizen of the US, you will need to bring a document that shows your legal status. If possible, pick a document that has your current full legal name. If the document you bring does not have your current legal name, you will need to bring official documents that show any name changes. All documents must be original and cannot be a photocopy. Documentation includes a US passport, US passport card, permanent resident card and others.
To prove Oregon residency and your residential address, you must bring two printed documents that show your current name and current Oregon residential (home) address. You may use two documents of the same type but they cannot be issued from the same organization, agency, business or institution. Each document must have the physical address where you live and not a mailing list or PO Box; must come from a verifiable business or government agency; must be written in ink if handwritten; cannot have any changes such as erasures or information crossed out; and cannot have a forwarding address sticker. Acceptable documents include any document issued by a financial institution, such as a bank, that includes your residential address, a paycheck/pay stub/W-2/1099 tax form and others.
After the DMV accepts and scans your submitted documents, you’ll be given a temporary paper ID. It is important to note that airport TSA will not accept the temporary paper ID at security. It takes up to three weeks to receive your REAL ID card in the mail, so make sure your identification is REAL ID-compliant in advance of your trip. For example, if you have a plane ticket for a flight on June 4, May 21 would be the last day to apply to be reasonably confident you’ll receive your REAL ID card prior to your flight.
The cost for a REAL ID is $30, in addition to the standard license/permit/ID fee. DMV offices accept cash, checks, money orders (exact amount only), mobile payments, debit cards and credit cards (Discover, Master Card, Visa).
For the document checklist and additional information on acceptable forms of each item needed, see oregon.gov/odot/dmv/pages/realidtraveler.aspx.
