Louisiana residents urged to get REAL ID before deadline

MOTOR VEHICLES AND TSA. THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE IN THE KNOW ON THE REAL IDS THAT YOU WILL NEED TO BOARD A PLANE COMING THIS SPRING, LOUISIANA RESIDENTS WILL NEED A REAL ID TO MEET IMPORTANT SECURITY STANDARDS. WDSU REPORTER ARIELLE BRUMFIELD JOINS US WITH MORE ON THAT DEADLINE THAT IS FAST APPROACHING. FAST APPROACHING. JEANNE. THE COUNTDOWN IS ON NOW. TSA WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO GET THROUGH THE CHECKPOINTS WITHOUT A REAL ID COMPLIANT LICENSE OR ANOTHER ACCEPTABLE FORM OF ID, AND WE HAVE JUST A FEW ODD MONTHS TO MAKE THAT SWITCH. GOLD STARS ARE LIKE BADGES OF HONOR AND BY SPRING OF 2025, IT’LL MEAN YOUR CREDENTIALED. LOUISIANA REAL ID DRIVER’S LICENSE AND IDENTIFICATION CARDS HAVE A SMALL STAR, WHICH WE HAVE A SAMPLE OVER BY THE TABLE AND THE RIGHT CORNER TO INDICATE THAT IT’S A REAL ID COMPLIANT CREDENTIAL JUST NINE MONTHS AWAY FROM THE MAY 7TH DEADLINE. SOME TRAVELERS HAVE ALREADY MADE THE SWITCH. I THINK IT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE IT. UM, IT’S KIND OF NOT REAL EASY TO GET. YOU HAVE TO BRING LIKE THREE DIFFERENT IDENTIFICATIONS. I BELIEVE, TO, TO GET IT, YOU KNOW, UM, SO YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME SHOW WHERE YOU LIVE AND SO FORTH. YOU’LL NEED YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE OR PASSPORT AND TWO PIECES OF MAIL TO GET A REAL ID COMPLIANT DRIVER’S LICENSE TO BE ABLE TO BOARD A PLANE AT THE LOUIS ARMSTRONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FOR THOSE WHO DON’T WANT TO CONVERT, YOU CAN STILL USE YOUR STANDARD DRIVER’S LICENSE IN ADDITION TO A PASSPORT. WE BRING OUR PASSPORTS WHENEVER WE TRAVEL AS WELL, WHETHER IT’S, UH, LOCAL OR NOT. I MEAN, IT’S JUST EASIER JUST TO HAVE ALL THE PROPER IDS. REAL IDS ARE TO HELP LIMIT TERRORIST BREACHES AND FRAUDULENT IDENTIFICATION. OMV OFFICIALS SAY ONLY 25% OF 4 MILLION DRIVERS IN THE STATE HAVE GOTTEN THEIR REAL ID. THEY WANT YOU TO VISIT THE DMV OR A PUBLIC TAG AGENCY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. IF THOSE REMAINING 3 MILLION RESIDENTS WERE TO WAIT FOR THE LAST MINUTE, IT COULD CAUSE A COMPLETE BOTTLENECK. BOTH IN OUR OFFICES AND IN THE OFFICES OF THE PUBLIC. TAG AGENTS. OUR GOOD PARTNERS FOR TROY DAVIS. HE HASN’T MADE THE CHANGE YET, BUT HE SAYS HE WANTS AN EASY TRAVELING EXPERIENCE. I PLAN ON GETTING IT FOR MYSELF. IT’LL MAKE LIFE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONVENIENT FOR ME. SO I’M NOT. I DON’T REALLY FEEL AN ISSUE WITH IT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. AND WHILE LOUISIANA ONLY HAS 25% OF DRIVERS WITH A REAL ID, SOME OTHER STATES LIKE GEORGIA, THEY’RE ALREADY AT 90% COMPLIANT. SO WE HAVE

Leaders with the Transportation Security Administration and the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles are urging residents to prioritize getting their REAL IDs before the approaching deadline. A news conference was held Thursday at the New Orleans International Airport to warn travelers that by May 2025, REAL IDs would be required. A REAL ID puts a star in the upper right-hand corner of a Louisiana driver's license. Travelers who want to board an airplane for a flight will soon need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license. If their driver’s license is not REAL ID-compliant, they will need another form of approved identification, such as a passport to board their flight or enter a secure federal facility or military base, according to the TSA. REAL ID goes into effect in nine months, starting on May 7, 2025.“REAL ID is a coordinated effort across the country to improve the authenticity of driver’s licenses and identification cards,” said TSA’s federal security director for the state of Louisiana, Arden Hudson, in an issued statement. “The embedded security features inhibit terrorists’ ability to evade detection by using fraudulent identification.”Louisiana residents have the option to upgrade to a REAL ID if their license does not currently have the star or stick with an older standard driver’s license. However, a standard credential — without the star — will not be valid to board a flight or to gain access to secure federal facilities, including military bases and some federal offices, according to the TSA. Anyone using a mobile driver’s license at the TSA checkpoint at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport must have a REAL ID license.To get the REAL ID star, individuals will need to visit a Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles field office or Public Tag Agent location to prove U.S. citizenship and Louisiana residency. Required documents include one proof of identity such as a passport or birth certificate, proof of legal presence for non-U.S. citizens, two proofs of Louisiana residency, and a current driver’s license if you are applying to exchange one issued by another U.S. state. Visit www.expresslane.org/REALID for an interactive REAL ID checklist. And general license information can be found at www.expresslane.org/License.

NEW ORLEANS —

Leaders with the Transportation Security Administration and the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles are urging residents to prioritize getting their REAL IDs before the approaching deadline.

A news conference was held Thursday at the New Orleans International Airport to warn travelers that by May 2025, REAL IDs would be required.

A REAL ID puts a star in the upper right-hand corner of a Louisiana driver's license.

Travelers who want to board an airplane for a flight will soon need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license. If their driver’s license is not REAL ID-compliant, they will need another form of approved identification, such as a passport to board their flight or enter a secure federal facility or military base, according to the TSA.

REAL ID goes into effect in nine months, starting on May 7, 2025.

“REAL ID is a coordinated effort across the country to improve the authenticity of driver’s licenses and identification cards,” said TSA’s federal security director for the state of Louisiana, Arden Hudson, in an issued statement. “The embedded security features inhibit terrorists’ ability to evade detection by using fraudulent identification.”

Louisiana residents have the option to upgrade to a REAL ID if their license does not currently have the star or stick with an older standard driver’s license. However, a standard credential — without the star — will not be valid to board a flight or to gain access to secure federal facilities, including military bases and some federal offices, according to the TSA.

Anyone using a mobile driver’s license at the TSA checkpoint at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport must have a REAL ID license.

To get the REAL ID star, individuals will need to visit a Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles field office or Public Tag Agent location to prove U.S. citizenship and Louisiana residency.

Required documents include one proof of identity such as a passport or birth certificate, proof of legal presence for non-U.S. citizens, two proofs of Louisiana residency, and a current driver’s license if you are applying to exchange one issued by another U.S. state.

Visit www.expresslane.org/REALID for an interactive REAL ID checklist. And general license information can be found at www.expresslane.org/License.

Louisiana residents urged to get REAL ID before deadline

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