‘Real ID’ Driver’s Licenses: Don’t Be Caught Short

BG9 said:

sac said:

I'm so glad I got a passport card along with the booklet when I renewed my passport a couple of years ago.  I prefer to use it than my DL anyway because the hassle of replacing a DL (real ID or otherwise) is much more than a passport.  I'll get the Real ID DL the next time I have to renew my license in person, but probably not before then.

I don't understand. Aren't you carrying your DL all the time? Then, you may as well use that instead of burdening yourself by also carrying a passport. Should you lose your wallet then you don't lose both Id's.

 I would rather keep my DL safely in my wallet rather than digging it out and fumbling with it at TSA.  And I do not take my passport booklet for domestic flights, only the passport card, which I keep in a sleeve on the back of my phone case to minimize any fumbling. (Boarding pass is electronic in phone, so I have everything I need for TSA there.)  If I fly internationally, I have to take the passport anyway.  But, I repeat, it is much less hassle to deal with a lost passport card or even a lost passport booklet other than if you are already out of the country than it is to deal with a lost drivers license.  So I like to be able to keep the DL packed in my carryon bag while going through TSA.   (I did once briefly misplace my DL in an airport and on another occasion I witnessed someone in a TSA line who had her DL out for the agent one minute and then couldn't find it when she went to put it back in her bag.  I don't know how that turned out because I was ahead of her in line and had to keep going.) And others I know who have gotten the passport card have also remarked similarly that they were glad they did.  PLUS it is just one more "solid" photo ID to have for most any purpose that requires one.

drummerboy said:

but, but, if a passport counts as a Real ID, why can't I just provide that to upgrade my license?

ack

seriously though - is there any need to upgrade your license to Real ID if you have a passport?

Re upgrading - That would make sense, but we are talking NJMVC here.

Primary need to upgrade license if you have a passport is to avoid having to take your passport (booklet) with you when traveling domestically and do not need it otherwise.  Another reason is so that you have TWO RealIDs rather than only one.  (In case one gets misplaced or stolen.)

No argument about the value of a passport card or global entry card as real ID, but as somebody who managed to lose a driver's license on a plane after fumbling with it as described above, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was able to print out a temporary license immediately and obtain a replacement by mail. 

sac said:

Re upgrading - That would make sense, but we are talking NJMVC here.

Primary need to upgrade license if you have a passport is to avoid having to take your passport (booklet) with you when traveling domestically and do not need it otherwise.  Another reason is so that you have TWO RealIDs rather than only one.  (In case one gets misplaced or stolen.)

Yes, it saves the inconvenience of needing to carry a passport. A lost, stolen or mugged passport takes awhile to replace. A drivers license, one day. Cheaper too.

It makes sense that upgrading your license should only require the submission of the other real id, the passport. Don't blame NJMVC. Blame Homeland Security documentation requirements. Its not a Trump issue. This dopiness was implemented during the Obama regime.

Enacted under G.W. Bush (and not stopped during Obama administration?).

Due to obvious reasons I was not able to renew my license in person.  It just arrived in the mail today.  It still has a star, but not a gold star, it is now yellow.  Google cannot seem to tell me the difference between a yellow star and a gold star.

The one I got a few months ago is on the left, the new one is on the right.  The new one does NOT say “Not for Real ID” so I’m assuming that it is valid for Real ID purposes?