An estimated 325,000 people from other countries who hold California REAL IDs will have to brave the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) again and replace them because of a software error.
The redo effects about 1.5 percent of REAL ID holders in the state, the department explained. The DMV will notify those recipients, all of whom apparently are in the state with legal immigration or visitation status.
The Sacramento Bee reported:
The agency said the issue related to the software that applies expiration dates to the identification cards. A legacy system from 2006 automatically applied standard expiration dates to people with lawful presence in the U.S. — who are, for instance, permanent residents, green card holders or visa holders — rather than the expiration of the person’s authorized stay.
“The issue was limited solely to how expiration dates were calculated for some of California’s noncitizen residents with legal presence,” DMV officials wrote in the news release, according to the newspaper.
DMV Director Steve Gordon added, “For nearly 99% of REAL ID holders, no action is required. The DMV remains committed to serving all Californians and ensuring REAL ID credentials meet federal standards.”
The deadline for securing a REAL ID was May 7, 2025. Anyone 18 years and older who plans to fly domestically, visit certain federal facilities, or confirm their identity for certain federal government services needs a REAL ID or another acceptable form of identification.
According to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA):
The REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the Federal Government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses and identification cards.” The Act and implementing regulations establish minimum security standards for license issuance and production and prohibit federal agencies from accepting for certain official purposes noncompliant driver’s licenses and identification cards, both physical and digital.
“The department emphasized that REAL IDs were not issued to undocumented individuals,” Los Angeles’s ABC affiliate reported.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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