BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. – The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) extended the REAL ID enforcement date by 24 months, from May 3, 2023, to May 7, 2025.
There is now additional time for South Carolinians to obtain driver’s licenses or identification cards that meet the security standards established by the REAL ID Act of 2005 in order to use their state-issued card to board a domestic, commercial flight, enter a secure federal building, or visit a military installation. According to DHS, the extension is necessary, in part, to address the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ability to obtain a REAL IDs.
The most current South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV) data shows 51.3 percent of all South Carolina-issued driver’s licenses and identification are REAL ID compliant. While the extension provides you more time to obtain a REAL ID compliant card, the SCDMV encourages you to obtain it at your earliest convenience if you feel you need this card type
South Carolinians who satisfy the REAL ID documentation requirements can exchange their current driver’s license for a REAL ID license at any SCDMV branch office for $25. Identification cards that are REAL ID compliant are available to people 17 and older for free. Identification cards for people 16 and younger are $15. You may not have both a license and an ID. Visit www.SCDMVonline.com for more information on REAL ID.
There, you may also check if all required documents needed to change your current South Carolina license or ID to a REAL ID are on file with the agency and may be able to purchase your new REAL ID from home.
Passed by Congress in 2005 following a 9/11 Commission recommendation, the REAL ID Act establishes minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards.
Under the new regulations, beginning May 7, 2025, every traveler 18 years old or older will need a REAL ID or another federally acceptable form of identification at airport security checkpoints for domestic air travel.
