REAL ID deadline is here | Here’s what you need to know

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Thousands across Arkansas waited in line Tuesday to get that golden star on the right-hand corner of their driver’s license. 

Tuesday is the last day before that gold star will be a requirement to get into federal buildings and board flights, but Scott Hardin with the Arkansas Department of Revenue said you can still get yours even after the deadline.

“It’s not the deadline for us. You can come in tomorrow, you can come in a year from now. You can come in 10 years from now and get a REAL ID,” Hardin said.

After May 7, that REAL ID process is not going away, and even if you don’t have the REAL ID star, that will not impact your license—in fact, it’s even optional.

“You can get it any time. Your license remains totally active. It’s normal. You don’t have to do anything with it. If you want a REAL ID, you can switch to it, but you don’t have to. The ultimate message to Arkansans is it’s up to you,” Hardin said.

But if you don’t have a REAL ID, be prepared. You might not be able to enter federal buildings and could face delays or denials at the airport when trying to fly. 

What do you need to get a REAL ID? Hardin said you only need a few important documents.

“Birth certificate or passport, a couple of bills mailed to your home and your social security card, and you’re walking out with a REAL ID,” Hardin said.

Marcus Johnson was one of the thousands in the revenue office with those documents to get the REAL ID. While the process and the lines might have looked overwhelming, Johnson said it was the opposite.

“It was quite easy… I waited for about 45 minutes. The line wasn’t as long as I thought it was, but it was a great experience,” Johnson said.

Cholenthia Thorn also waited until the last day where lines were seen out the doors at times. She said have a similar experience to Johnson. Between the waiting and having documents processed, it wasn’t that bad.

“I got up, ended up out here quick. I rushed down here at the last minute. Took me about an hour and a half to get up where I get my license. But it was all right, though, because the line was so long, I didn’t think I was going to ever get there, but I did, and I thought it was going to be longer,” Thorn said.

Hardin said that not having a social security card is the number one reason that people are being turned away. Another reason is that some last names do not match their birth certificate.

“If your birth certificate is Smith, but your married name is Jones, you have to bring the marriage certificate justifying the name change. It’s the same thing with the divorce name change—bring the divorce decree,” Hardin said.

Hardin said that if you have more questions about the REAL ID, you can click here.

In this case, though, the more documents you bring, the merrier.

“If the question is, should I bring this? The answer is yes,” Hardin said.