REAL ID deadline approaching — good luck finding an appointment in NJ

⚫ Enforcement of REAL ID will begin on May 7

⚫ Appointments are hard to come by for non-renewal upgrades

⚫ Having a REAL ID is not mandatory

Your procrastination may have consequences.

Starting on May 7, a standard New Jersey driver license won't count as proper documentation when you want to board a domestic flight or enter a federal facility.

And if you're looking to upgrade your license to a REAL ID — the upgraded form of documentation that officials will accept — you could struggle to find an appointment before May.

In an emailed statement to New Jersey 101.5, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission said it has seen a significant increase in demand for REAL ID appointments.

Do I need a REAL ID?

Getting a REAL ID by the May 7 deadline is not mandatory.

If you have a valid passport, that's as good as having a REAL ID on you when you're looking to board a flight.

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Standard driver licenses will remain valid for driving purposes and at other businesses, like banks, that may ask to see your ID.

How do I get a REAL ID?

The start date for REAL ID enforcement has been pushed back multiple times. New Jersey residents have had plenty of time to book an appointment at an NJMVC location and make the upgrade.

This time, the planned enforcement date will stick. In January, rules published by the Transportation Security Administration noted that starting on May 7, only licenses and ID cards that meet the REAL ID security requirements will be allowed for official purposes, including boarding commercial aircraft.

You need to make an appointment online at an NJMVC location in order to obtain a REAL ID.

No appointments available?

Turning your license into a REAL ID is much easier for folks who have a license or non-driver ID that's set to expire in three months or less. Tens of thousands of appointments exist for this month or next month, at agency locations throughout New Jersey.

But individuals who simply want to upgrade their license to a REAL ID — because their license won't expire for a while — are having a much harder time finding an appointment.

A search at 11 a.m. on Thursday, for example, showed that just 77 appointments were available statewide, with most agency locations having "no appointments available." And within those 77 available appointments, the earliest available date was May 7, the enforcement start date.

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According to the NJMVC, approximately 3,000 new appointments are added to their scheduler each day.

"We will continue to monitor appointment availability and optimize the mix of appointments, in accordance with demand," an agency spokesperson said.

New Jersey 101.5 followed the patterns of the online scheduler over the past week. Individuals looking for an appointment will see the most availability in the early morning hours.

"Driver license renewal and REAL ID non-renewal appointments are scheduled out for 90 days on our appointment system," the spokesperson said.

Also, appointments pop up randomly throughout the day — even for the next day — as a result of cancellations.

Residents who want to obtain a REAL ID need to bring "6 points" of identification to their appointment.

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