‘It’s terrible’: New Jerseyans scramble to get REAL IDs before this week’s deadline

When Scott Case realized the REAL ID deadline was coming up this week, he decided to head to his local DMV Monday morning.

When Scott Case realized the REAL ID deadline was coming up this week, he decided to head to his local department of motor vehicles Monday morning. “I’ve known about it and I’ve been putting it off, so some of it’s on me,” the frequent business traveler from Collingswood, New Jersey, acknowledged to CNN. But during the frenzied final weeks before the federal government starts enforcing REAL ID regulations this Wednesday, Case and others are learning getting one at the last minute is a big challenge. “I feel bad for anybody who doesn’t have a passport,” said Case as he left without securing an ID. Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005 as a way to enhance security for identification, requiring new minimum standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and IDs. While people without REAL IDs will still be able to drive using current non-compliant licenses and use that identification in other scenarios, REAL IDs will be required for domestic air travel for those without a valid passport or other approved identification. After years of pushing the deadline for Americans to get a REAL ID, the Department of Homeland Security says it will finally start enforcement May 7.