The rush is on to get a Real ID by May 7. But it’s okay to slow your roll.
You only need the Real ID, which is a federally compliant driver’s license or other identification issued by a department of motor vehicles, if you plan to board a domestic flight soon or enter a federal building (this includes district court). Even so, showing your passport, passport card, greencard, or Global Entry card is fine.
That being said, here are some hacks to getting your Real ID or other compliant ID in the next few weeks in or around New York City. By planning now, you can get your ID in time for summer travel.
Book an appointment at a DMV outside of NYC
New York City residents, the good news is that you can get your Real ID anywhere in the state. And we know services are often easier and more efficient outside Manhattan or city limits.
First, get familiar with the reservation system at this link.
We recently looked and saw plenty of appointments in May and June at the DMV in Rockland County. The office in West Haverstraw is only about an hour’s drive from Astoria, Queens. White Plains, too, has appointments after June 12 and is under an hour’s drive from many points in the city. Meanwhile, there are still appointments in June for Springfield Gardens, Queens, Staten Island, Lower Manhattan and Midtown Manhattan.
The DMV also extended hours through Saturday. While I did not see any available as I wrote this, I have seen them pop up randomly. I also suggest booking what you can and making sure you screengrab the appointment number and confirmation (you should also receive an email and/or text message). Then keep continuously checking that link but register as though you want to reschedule your appointment. Oftentimes, you can still find something sooner or closer to you.
If you have to fly before an available appointment, read on.
You can walk in or try extended hours on Thursday or Saturday but…
The desperation to get a Real ID by May 7 is overloading the system. On a recent day in the College Point, Queens, office, anyone who didn’t have an appointment was being turned away. Meanwhile, some of us tried to game the system by signing up for a non-ID related appointment. Those, too, were turned away once DMV staff realized we weren’t there to pay traffic tickets.
Again, unless you need to fly or enter a federal building ASAP, you really should be fine.
It pays to be a AAA member
AAA members can upgrade their licenses at select offices. My friend recently did at the Broadway and 62nd Street site in Manhattan; she says it took a half hour and cost $12 although she paid $29 to extend expiration. The branches in Bayside or Flushing also offer this service but please note you need to make an appointment. If you don’t have AAA membership, a basic package starts at $4 a month. More info here.
Consider Global Entry
Besides your passport book, other forms of ID allow you to fly domestically or enter federal buildings, including your green card or passport card. And we’ve written before about how to get Global Entry faster (we pasted that hack below).
Global Entry is a program that allows trusted travelers to enter and clear customs through kiosks. Filling out the application is relatively easy (the hardest part for us was remembering every country we’ve been to over the last five years) but the real sticking point is that interviews (which must be in person) are REALLY hard to get. For an application that my New York City-based family of four filled out and submitted in mid-March 2022, we couldn’t get an interview until late October–in Newark (!). Here’s the hack: If you plan overseas travel anytime before your scheduled interview, keep your paperwork with you that says you are conditionally approved for Global Entry. Upon arrival at the U.S. Customs port, go through customs (we highly recommend downloading the Mobile Passport Control app as that allows you to bypass the longer line). After you clear but before exiting, show the agent the conditional approval and ask if they can interview you on the spot. We recently did this at Kennedy Airport, were ushered into a side room and it was under 10 minutes for interviews for a family of four, less time than we waited at the baggage carousel. A week later, our cards arrived in the mail, shrinking the total wait time from six months to 13 days.
