Oklahoma Granted Another Extension In REAL ID Compliance

Another extension has been granted to Oklahoma to comply with the REAL ID Act- 14 years after the feds passed the legislation which makes it more difficult to forge a driver’s license. This means the federal government will have to continue to recognize Oklahoma driver’s licenses for boarding a flight or entering a federal facility through next September. Lawmakers have cited privacy issues preventing them from getting this done.

“The Department of Public Safety and its new leadership are working quickly and effectively to update systems and take the necessary steps to implement REAL ID,” said Governor Kevin Stitt. “This will be the final extension needed for our state to become fully compliant with federal law, as Oklahoma is set to begin issuing the updated IDs later next year. We are prioritizing this project in order to ensure our citizens can continue to use their Oklahoma licenses to travel seamlessly across the U.S. and enter federal facilities. By implementing REAL ID, we are also making sure our state remains competitive, successfully attracts new businesses, and retains our hardworking people as we continue to make Oklahoma a Top Ten state.”

Public Safety Commissioner John Scully said “We know Oklahomans are anxious for our state to become REAL ID compliant. Achieving this goal is the number one priority of DPS and we are on track to begin issuing REAL IDs beginning April 30, 2020 in select locations. We will be releasing more information in the near future to help citizens make decisions regarding their need for REAL ID, what documents will be needed to process the REAL ID request and locations that will be available to obtain their REAL ID. We intend to streamline this process and make it as easy as possible for Oklahomans to get a REAL ID.”

Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005. Oklahoma legislators in 2007 passed a bill preventing the state from meeting provisions of the act.

Lawmakers in 2017 passed legislation that was signed by Governor Mary Fallin, which allowed state officials to begin work on building a compliant system that includes training DPS employees and tag agents and updating the department’s entire system.