TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Passport Update

Got out Real ID drivers license years ago. Fancy holograms and other features. But strangely, TSA scanners couldn’t read mine. They would try like 3 times and then look at me funny and let me go. Happened every time. We moved and got a new license and this one works. But I’d rather carry a card in my wallet than my passport within the USA.

When it comes to stuff like this you have top ask are the authorities “incompetent” or “intentionally incompetent”. How can it still be a choice, we believed it to be mandatory to get a license renewal.

We got our Real ID driver’s licenses through AAA. It was a very easy process, and I don’t think it cost us anything.
I believe AAA offers this service in Washington State too.

I'd like to see the link to that as it's very costly to get it through our licensing department.

In Ohio, it was the same price as a drivers license renewal. One just had to have the additional forms of ID for it to happen. It was easy if you had the proper documentation. It really was not a big deal at all.

Washington State isn't that easy and cost extra.

I didn't have to go in to renew last time with Washington State due to covid.. I will get the enhanced when I renew in 2026. It is not the cost that is an issue to me, it is the time it takes. Until then I have plenty of other ID.

Being the land of advanced companies like Amazon, Boeing and Microsoft, your state needs a lean event, it is not that hard. Might be some resistance in the gears.

Florida's Real ID is NOT and enhanced drivers license, there are only 5 states that issue Enhanced Drivers Licenses and FLorida is not one of them. Florida's Real ID has a star in the corner, Enhanced Drivers Licenses have a US flag

Well, in Carol's defense (and to get technical), a Florida (or any state) Real ID is an enhanced driver's license, but not an Enhanced Driver's License.

Enhanced Driver's Licenses are issued in some border states, to expedite border crossings for pre-screened US citizens. And Enhanced Driver's Licenses are also Real IDs. But Real IDs are not Enhanced Driver's Licenses.

I do agree with Carol that, for most people, the investment in time in getting a Real ID is worth the effort. I keep my passport locked up, unless I'm travelling internationally. No need to get it out unless absolutely necessary.

USsimonusa--OK, I guess I didn't know the difference, but my license is Real ID, which all I care about for this purpose.

I have just been renewing online here in WA ST. Just a time hassle to have to go in to get this Real ID.

Acceptable forms of approved ID for domestic air travel.
State-issued Enhanced Driver's License (EDL) or Enhanced ID (EID)
U.S. passport
U.S. passport card
DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
Permanent resident card
Border crossing card
An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe, including Enhanced Tribal Cards (ETCs).
HSPD-12 PIV card
Foreign government-issued passport
Canadian provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
Transportation worker identification credential
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential
Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)

Same in NC. We both got ours when our licenses last renewed, two or three years ago. I think we had to have our birth certificates and passports. There were several options for documentation, but those are what we used.

Real ID and enhanced drivers license are the same thing. I got mine at AAA.