Local DMV offices have been busy as people rush to upgrade their driver's licenses to a REAL ID or Enhanced License before an upcoming deadline.
That's the form of identification that will be needed to board a domestic flight in the U.S. starting on May 7. A passport will also be accepted.
To get a REAL ID, applicants must show proof of residency and citizenship, and their Social Security number. Other documents, such as a marriage certificate and court papers, must be provided if a person's name has ever been changed.
"If you've been married, if you filed for divorce or even a legal name change, you have to go out and do that scavenger hunt if you don't have those documents, and bring those with you at the time of your appointment," said Monroe County Clerk Jamie Romeo. "And I think that has caught many people off guard."
Another area of confusion involves the deadline itself.
Romeo said misinformation is circulating that REAL IDs cannot be obtained after May 7. That is not true; the deadline only applies to airline passengers. Applications for REAL IDs can still be processed any time after that.
"We really only want people to feel the crush if they need to get on a plane in the next couple of weeks," Romeo stressed.
Appointments are required and can be made at monroecounty.gov/dmv. The DMV office at The Mall at Greece Ridge will accept people without appointments on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
A glitch in the online scheduling system left about 30 people locked outside of the Henrietta DMV on April 19. Romeo said the system erroneously scheduled appointments even though that location was closed for the day.
