How do you get a REAL ID in New Jersey? Stay tuned
In the next few weeks, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission will begin issuing REAL ID driver’s licenses on a trial basis at one MCV agency office that hasn’t been identified yet.
If all goes well, the plan is to then begin to offer REAL ID at additional agencies, but no timetable has been announced because officials want to first make sure the REAL ID process is working smoothly before they move forward.
People who fly commercially in the United States without a passport will need to have a REAL ID starting Oct. 1, 2020.
Once REAL ID begins to roll out, state Motor Vehicle Commission Administrator Sue Fulton said people will have to make sure all of their required documents are in order before showing up at the MVC, where long lines are expected.
In order to get a standard driver’s license in New Jersey, you are required to produce at least one primary piece of Identification, at least one secondary one, a verifiable Social Security number and proof of address. But Fulton said with REAL ID it’s going to be “new math.”
“You’re going to need two proofs of address, one proof of your Social Security number, plus six points of ID. On top of that there will be different point values for your documents for REAL ID than there are for the standard New Jersey license," she said.
The agency has not yet announced the point values for documents.
“This is why we’re sending everybody to realidnj.com, where we’ll be posting a document tool so you can make sure you have everything you need the first time you go to the agency for your REAL ID," she said.
MVC also will have to scan all of an applicant's documents, which they don't currently do.
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