REAL ID Driver’s Licenses

The S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles will begin accepting documents from South Carolinians seeking a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or identification card.

The agency stressed changing driver’s licenses or state-issued ID cards to a REAL ID-compliant card is optional and voluntary. “If you feel you will not be boarding a commercial flight, visiting a secure federal building, or a military base, you do not need a REAL ID-compliant license or ID,” the agency said in a release. The agency noted that residents who have received their first-ever SC license or ID during or after November 2010, do not have to bring documents. “If you have a valid U.S. passport/passport card, military ID, or another federally approved identification, you may use that as your form of identification to board a commercial flight or visit a secure federal building or military base, but you must carry it with you for the above activities,” the agency added.

By Oct. 1, 2020, S.C. residents must have some form of a federally approved identification to board a commercial flight, even within the United States, or visit a secure federal facility like a military base. However, REAL ID cards are not needed to drive, vote, access hospitals, receive federal benefits, enter a non-secure federal building, or participate in law enforcement proceedings, the agency said.

Residents interested in getting a REAL ID-compliant license or ID, in the future, or an original beginner’s permit, license, or ID should bring all of the following types of documents with them to the DMV office:

• Two proofs of current South Carolina address. Examples would be no more than a 3-month-old pay stub with your name and address and a no more than a 3-month-old water bill with your name and address. Also, these two proofs cannot come from the same category, such as a water bill from April and a water bill from March.
• Proof of U.S. citizenship, identity, date of birth. Examples include an original or government-issued copy of your birth certificate or valid U.S. passport/U.S. passport card.
• Proof of Social Security number. Examples would be a Social Security card or W-2 form with your name, your employer’s name, and your Social Security number on it.
• Document(s) Supporting Legal Name Change. Examples include a marriage license, divorce decree, or court order issued by your county’s family court.

The DMV suggested that people interested in obtaining a REAL ID check the agency’s website, www.scdmvonline.com to check on how long they’ll have to wait. The agency added that the new licenses won’t even be available for at least six months.