Countdown to obtaining your REAL ID is only about one year away

COLUMBUS – Effective May 3, 2023, the state-issued identification that airline passengers present at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening checkpoints for boarding a commercial airline must be REAL ID compliant.

TSA will require a federally-compliant driver license, identification card, or other acceptable form of identification such as a U.S. passport or military ID to fly within the U.S.

“To date, only 46% of Ohioans have their compliant driver license,” said Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) Registrar Charlie Norman.  “We want to continue to encourage all Ohioans to obtain their complaint driver license before the 2023 deadline.”

To obtain the federally compliant driver license/identification card (DL/ID) through the Ohio BMV, customers will need to provide documents that prove the following: full legal name, date of birth, social security number, two proofs of Ohio residency, proof of legal presence (if the customer’s name has changed and is not the same as what is listed on their birth certificate, they will need to provide proof of name change). Customers can use the BMV’s interactive Acceptable Documents Checklist to help determine the specific documents they will need to take with them to obtain their DL/ID. 

Customers should also take advantage of the “Get in Line, Online” virtual queuing system, which allows them to advance in their BMV office’s queue without physically waiting in the office. After checking in online, customers have a four-hour window to arrive at the deputy registrar location, check in at a self-service kiosk, and claim their spot in line.

While at the Deputy Registrar, the customer’s current DL/ID card will be perforated to visually indicate the person is in the process of receiving the new driver license/ID card. The perforation will be in the top left corner of the card – both for the horizontal and vertical layouts. DL/IDs are now printed at a secure, central location, so the customer will leave with the perforated card and a paper Ohio interim document stating their DL/ID information, photo, and signature.  Customers must carry this paper document, along with the perforated card, until their new DL/ID arrives in the mail.  The new DL/ID will arrive in a plain white envelope.