[Speaker 1] (0:05 - 29:44)
So, good morning, everyone. Good morning to you all. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for coming out today to learn about the REAL ID.

My name is Michelle Ellix, and I'll be presenting the program today. I want to give a big thank you to Sonya and the staff at the Schwab SCIT Council on Aging for inviting the registry here today and to help you learn about the REAL ID. So, the REAL ID is a federally compliant credential.

And the two handouts that were passed out are, first of all, a poster. We have a poster that shows you a REAL ID, but it also shows you a standard ID as well. And this will tell you exactly what the difference is between the two, because the Registry of Motor Vehicles is now issuing a REAL ID, and we are continuing to issue a standard ID, or driver's license.

So, whatever is in your wallet, whether it is a driver's license or whether it is a Massachusetts ID card, either one of those can be upgraded to become a REAL ID federally compliant credential. So, what does that all mean? Well, the REAL ID, as I said, is a federally compliant credential, which will be needed on May 7th, 2025.

So, you've got a couple of years before this deadline approaches, a couple of years to think about whether or not you want to get the REAL ID. And it will be required to fly domestically, to fly within the United States. So, again, on May 7th, 2025, a REAL ID will be required in order to fly domestically, which is flying within the United States, as well as to enter certain federal buildings.

However, security will also accept a valid passport. So, if you have a valid passport, you don't need the REAL ID. It's one or the other that will be required by security in order for you to get on that plane or for you to get into that secure federal building.

So, when I talk about a secure federal building, I mean the JFK building in Boston. That's a federal office building. It has a security guard at the entrance.

The larger Social Security Administration buildings, those are usually in federal buildings. It's a federal office that usually has a security guard at the entrance. This secure federal building does not include the post office.

When you go to the post office, there's no security guard at the entrance checking IDs of everyone that comes in. So, you will not need to have a REAL ID or a valid passport to get into the post office. It is secure federal office buildings.

And, again, if you have a passport, you can show that instead of the REAL ID. So, the REAL ID Act was established by Congress in 2005 to make identity documents more consistent and secure. The REAL ID was essentially created, of course, by Congress of 2005, but it's also the result of 9-11.

So, because of 9-11, Congress got together, created the Department of Homeland Security. So, the Department of Homeland Security is the branch of the government that is overseeing the whole REAL ID initiative. Okay?

So, that just gives you a little bit of background. So, let's move ahead. Two, three.

Okay. So, this is the poster that you have. And you can see two different credentials.

One has a star in the top right-hand corner of your poster. So, the credential on the left side of the page has a star in the top right-hand corner of it. That indicates that that credential is a REAL ID.

And you'll notice I use the word credential. A credential means it can be either a driver's license or an ID card. Okay?

So, when I say credential, I'm referring to either the license or an ID, whatever's in your wallet. We can put the star in the top right-hand corner of it. And that will tell security that, yes, this is a federally compliant credential, and I should let this person board that airplane or let this person enter a secure federal office building.

Okay? So, I'd like to ask you to hold your questions until the end, and I will cover as much as possible. Now, in order to get the REAL ID, in order to get that star put on your driver's license, it does require that you make a reservation in advance and come into either the Registry of Motor Vehicles or go into a AAA office if you're a AAA member.

So, how do you get the REAL ID? You would make a reservation, and you would go into either the Registry of Motor Vehicles or to AAA. How does one make a reservation?

So, let me just tell you, we have a great website, mass.gov slash RMV. Again, mass.gov slash RMV. It's at the bottom of this poster, so you'll see it right across the bottom.

So that, excuse me, by going online, that's one way to make your reservation to visit the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The other way is we've started a telephone number. We now offer a phone number for people to call, and I'll tell you the phone number if you'd like to jot it down.

I put it on the poster, maybe right above the website, because that will be the two ways to make a reservation. But the reservation line at the Registry of Motor Vehicles is area code 857-368-8005, and I'll repeat that. And you'll also see that phone number later in the slide deck.

So 857-368-8005 is our reservation line. That phone number is open and available Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., okay? So the reservation line at the Registry is in operation Monday through Friday from 9 to 5, 9 to 5.

And the other, I'm jumping ahead. You'll see this information again, but keep in mind the registry, only the registry, also offers a senior hour. So the telephone number that I just gave you is only for customers age 65 or older or for customers who have a disability.

So that's not the main number that you would be calling to the registry for whatever it is you need. It's just the reservation line for our customers who are 65 or older or who have a disability. The other thing that we offer is a 65-plus hour every week on Wednesday morning between the hours of 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. We dedicate that one hour every week to our customers age 65 or older or to our customers and to our customers who have a disability. So you need a reservation, though. You need to have a reservation in advance even to come in during our senior hour. But again, that one hour per week, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, is only for our customers who are 65 or older or a customer who has a disability. And it's a nice time to come in because we're at 50% capacity during that hour. So there are 50% fewer customers at the registry on Wednesday mornings between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. So I jumped ahead to the housekeeping. So again, the Real ID, if you're interested in obtaining a Real ID, it does require an initial visit in person.

Now, once a person has the Real ID, depending on your age and what credential, if you have a license or an ID card, depending on your age, you might be able to renew the Real ID online the next time it expires. The only people that would not be able to renew their Real ID online the next time it expires is if they are 75 years old and they hold a driver's license. All right?

Because there's no online renewal for people who are 75 or older and hold a driver's license. You must renew every five years, which is every time that license expires, every five years. You must renew it in person if you're 75 or older.

But if you're younger than 75 or if you don't have a driver's license, you have an ID card, well, that can be renewed online the next time it expires. In fact, depending on your age, you might be eligible to renew your Real ID or your standard ID or driver's license online two consecutive times. Here in Massachusetts, you are eligible.

You might be eligible to renew your credential two consecutive times online, and then the third time you would need to make a reservation, come on in and we'll update your picture. If you hold a license, take your eye test as well. So that's just the overview of what is the difference between a Real ID and a standard.

Well, both, as long as they have not expired, whether you have a standard or a Real ID, both are absolutely valid forms of identification. Okay? So you can use that ID even if it's a standard.

You can use it to cash a check, use it to open a bank account, to apply for housing or benefits, to buy a bottle of wine. So not everyone is going to need to have the Real ID. We have plenty of people who do not have the Real ID, and it is a perfectly valid form of identification.

The only thing it won't let them do is fly or get into secure buildings starting in May of 2025. That's the only difference between a standard and a Real ID. Okay.

So let's go to the next page. So how do I renew my driver's license or ID card? Well, the Real ID Act requires that you bring in additional documentation.

Even if you want the standard, you still have to provide additional documentation. So to renew a driver's license or ID card, customers must provide documentation which verifies lawful presence as required by the federal and state law. Now, I just talked about this item, that in Massachusetts, if you're 75 or older, you must renew your driver's license in person.

And I also mentioned that both the AAA and registry are by appointment only. What I did not mention is that to make a reservation to visit AAA, you do have to contact AAA directly. We do not make any reservations for AAA.

And you must be a AAA member as well in order to visit AAA. But contact AAA directly, and you can make your reservation at AAA. So let's get to the second document that you have, which is the checklist.

This checklist will help you get organized, and it will help you prepare for your visit to the registry. So the checklist is two-sided, and the first page has the title on the top right underneath that yellow banner. Excuse me, orange banner.

The orange banner across both page one and two is just a reminder of that date, May 7, 2025. So we ask that you bring this checklist with you when you go into the registry or when you go to AAA. And before you make your visit to AAA or to the registry, we ask that you check off which documents that you are bringing with you.

And that will help you to have a much quicker visit at the registry. It will help us understand which documents you're bringing with you today or the day that you go in, and it will help us process your license or your ID or your upgrade to the REAL ID much quicker. Now, most people are upgrading to the REAL ID when they come in to renew their driver's license.

So that's what most people are doing. Here in Massachusetts, you can renew your driver's license or your ID card one year in advance of the expiration date. So in Massachusetts, you have the ability to renew your license or ID within one year of the expiration date.

And if you decide to renew your license or ID, let's say, eight months before the license expires or the ID expires, you're not going to lose any of that time. We're going to always add five years to the expiration date that's on your credential. We don't add five years from the day that you visit us.

We add five years to your expiration date when you successfully renew your driver's license or your ID card. You get it for another five years. So keep that in mind.

So if your license or ID is expiring within the coming year, you can renew it at any time, and you're not going to lose any time on your new license or ID card. So I would say, you know, well, why do we do that? Why do we give people a full year prior to the expiration date to renew?

Because people are busy. You might be traveling the world when your license is up for renewal, right? So you may be out of the country, out of the state.

We don't want people to procrastinate and wait until the week before it expires to renew it because things happen, right? Life gets busy. So now you know.

You have a whole year prior to that expiration date to renew it at any time, and you won't lose any of that time. We build it into your new license or ID card. So that's important to keep in mind.

So let's get to what are the documents that are required. Well, a couple reminders, and this is all on your checklist that you're looking at right now. A couple reminders are that we cannot accept photocopied documents.

Any document that you bring to us must be an original, nor can we accept laminated Social Security cards. So if you have laminated your Social Security card, we would not be able to accept that document. The good news is there are alternates.

So let's get to it. The first step is, as I mentioned, proving lawful presence, proving lawful presence. So what that means is that you have a document.

You have an original document, and if not an original, we can accept what's called a certified version, which means it's got a seal on it. It's as close to an original document as you can get. So either an original or a certified version of a document proving lawful presence and date of birth.

Well, on page 1, there's a box, a big box. And within that box, the title says proof of lawful presence and proof of date of birth. All documents must be valid and unexpired.

One document is required. So you would check off any one of these documents listed in the proof of lawful presence, only one, only one, any one of these documents in the proof of lawful presence section. Now, what can you use?

You could use a valid passport. And I would recommend if you do have a passport, use that. Use that to prove lawful presence.

And I say that because chances are the passport shows your current name, it's up to date, it's a more current document than your birth certificate. Well, birth certificate might be, you know, 50, 60, 70 years old, 80. So just know that you can bring in a valid passport, and I would recommend that if you have a valid passport, check that off and bring that with you to prove your date of birth and lawful presence.

If you don't have a valid passport, don't worry, because there are 11 documents that you can choose from in this lawful presence section. The second document that we list is your United States birth certificate issued by a city, town, county, or state. So if you have a birth certificate issued in the U.S. by a city, town, county, or state, you would bring that. So pay real close attention to the information underneath where we list U.S. birth original or certified version of your U.S. birth certificate. That meets the following requirements, because if your birth certificate that you bring to us does not meet the following requirements, we by federal law cannot accept it. We'll send you home and say you've got to find another document.

All right, so what does it have to have? It has to be issued by a city, county, state, your city, county, or state of birth. It has to list your full name, your date of birth, and your place of birth.

It has to list your parent or your parents' full names. It has to have the signature of the city, county, or state registrar. It has to have the date that that birth certificate was filed with the city, county, or state registrar.

And the date has to be within one year of your date of birth. And last but not least, it has to have the seal of the issuing authority. So if you're bringing in your birth certificate, just make sure it meets all of those six requirements, and we can accept it.

If you don't have a birth certificate from the U.S., maybe you were born in Puerto Rico, you can bring in your birth certificate issued in Puerto Rico, but that must be dated after July 1st of 2010. Okay, so that's important to know, too. All right, just for the Puerto Rican birth certificate.

You could bring in a consular report of birth abroad issued by the Department of State, a permanent resident card issued by the Department of Homeland Security. And look, there's a second column that lists even more documents that you could choose from to prove lawful presence and date of birth. A temporary stamp and a foreign passport, employment authorization document, a foreign passport with a valid visa affixed to it, a certificate of citizenship issued by the Department of Homeland Security, a certificate of naturalization, a reentry permit form, or a refugee travel document.

So any one, you need to bring in one of those documents. Now I'd like to bring your attention to the bold sentence underneath the list of lawful presence documents. And that bold sentence says, your current name must match the name that appears on your lawful presence document when applying for the REAL ID.

So this is an extra step for folks that want the REAL ID. If the name that appears on your passport or on your birth certificate or your employment papers or any of these 11 documents listed here, if your first name or your last name is different on the document than your current name and you want the REAL ID, that's the catch, and you want the REAL ID, you do need to bring in a document proving legal name change. So what would I use?

Please bring your attention to the bottom of page 1 checklist in that section at the bottom. So you would bring in your marriage certificate issued by a city or town, not your wedding reception contract or your bill for your flowers or the caterer bill. We need to see a marriage certificate or a marriage license where you applied to get married.

If you got married and then got divorced and then remarried and changed your name all those times and you're using a birth certificate that shows your maiden name and you want the REAL ID, you've got to bring in all the marriage licenses and all of the divorce decrees. We need to show that progression of name changes if you want the REAL ID. Or maybe you decided to change your name from Michelle to Sonia when you were young and you went to court to do that, and you're using a birth certificate that still shows your name as Michelle, but you go by Sonia now.

You would need to bring in that court document from probate court that proves you legally changed your name. So that's all due to the REAL ID Department of Homeland Security's requirements. So we're halfway done, though.

Please turn this over to the second page, and then you will see at the top of page 2 a smaller box that's titled Proof of Social Security Number. Please bring one document. If you want the REAL ID, bring one document from this section.

So what can you bring to prove Social Security Number? Your Social Security card, as long as it's not laminated, and as long as it shows your current name. Or you could bring in a W-2 form.

Maybe you have a W-2 from when you were working, or maybe you're working now and you get a W-2, and it must show all nine digits. Be careful if you're going to use W-2. It's got to show all nine digits.

Sometimes they only show the last four. Or you could use your Social Security Administration 1099. Maybe you received for your taxes this year a 1099 form.

You can use that. That's a document that proves Social Security Number as well. So you could use your SSA-issued 1099 or, as it states here in this box, a non-SSA 1099.

Or you could use a pay stub that shows all nine digits. Or, last but not least, a Social Security Number denial notice. And that, again, is one document proving your Social Security Number.

Bring that with you. And then the final category is proving that you are living in Massachusetts. So you need to, if you want the REAL ID, you need to bring in two documents that prove that you're living in Massachusetts.

If you don't want the REAL ID, you would bring one. Now, how are you going to remember that? I know it's a lot.

But in each category, you'll notice there's a small box in the top right hand. So when we're looking at the Massachusetts residency section of page 2, it's a large box. But in the top right-hand corner, you'll see a smaller box.

That's kind of a little cheat sheet. It tells you, well, how many documents do I need from this one section? It tells you, for standard check 1, for REAL ID check 2.

All right. So what documents do you use to prove mass residency? There are almost 25 different documents listed here.

Just read this section carefully and bring two if you want the REAL ID or bring one if you just want the standard. Most people are using their valid driver's license. That's one.

Or a valid Massachusetts ID card. That's one. So you can use one registry item.

And then you would choose from the rest of the categories on the list. And what are some of the other categories? Well, state, federal, city, town, county agency-issued documents, such as a first-class piece of government-issued mail dated within 60 days, a current Massachusetts professional license, a Medicaid statement dated within 60 days of your visit to the registry, a current firearms card, a jury duty or court correspondence dated within 60 days, your property tax bill for the current year, an excise tax bill for the current year, and then the next category, bills. You could, again, just choose any two from this entire section.

One can be a registry item. Most folks are bringing in bills because, unfortunately, most people have bills. So the bills that are listed here, they must be dated within 60 days of your visit to the registry.

You can bring in a utility bill, a credit card statement, a hospital or medical statement, an insurance bill or cell phone bill. And then, if you still don't find any that you might have, just read the second column carefully. There are about 15 documents listed in the second column.

And that is it. You bring your documents with you. You make sure they meet all the requirements that we list here.

I didn't mention this one thing. Back on the proof of residency, you'll notice right underneath the title, where it says proof of Massachusetts residency, it says document must display current residential address with the applicant's name. No post office box statements will be accepted.

So if it only shows a P.O. box, that doesn't prove mass residency. And if it's mailed to you in care of somebody else, we cannot accept that either. It has to show your name and it has to show your residential address.

And, again, for Real ID, bring two. For Standard, bring one. For Real ID, bring one Social Security document.

For Standard, you don't have to bring any Social Security document for the Standard. And then, last but not least, everybody, whether they want the Real ID or the Standard, must bring in or upload, if they're age eligible and they don't want a Real ID, they can upload their lawful presence document. So let me now advance that.

So that is the overview of the documents. One document verifying lawful presence and date of birth, possibly document or multiple documents proving name change, if you want the Real ID. One document proving Social Security number, if you want the Real ID.

Two documents proving mass residency, if you want the Real ID. And only one document proving mass residency, if you only want the Standard. All documents must be originals and laminated documents are not accepted.

All right. So you have this information already, but I will repeat it. Registry and AAA are by reservation only.

Reservations are required to visit the registry and to AAA. No walk-in services available except for customers who are doing a motor vehicle registration transaction. Maybe they are buying a new car and they need to register that new car.

Well, that you can just walk in and do. But any licensing or ID transactions must require a reservation in advance. And then here is that information again.

Now you've got it on your flyer because you wrote in this telephone number. But you can make your own reservation by going online to mass.gov slash RMV or calling 857-368-8005. And as I mentioned for AAA, if you're a AAA member, you do need to make your reservation with AAA directly.

AAA does not have senior hours. Only the registry has a senior hour every Wednesday morning from 9 a.m. until 10 for customers 65 and older or for any customer with a disability at 30 different locations across Massachusetts. And one more time, to make a reservation, now you know, online or by calling that 857-368-8005 number.