FILE: People wait to enter a California DMV office in May 2020 in San Francisco.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Within an hour of opening on Monday morning, the DMV in San Francisco had a line of people out the door waiting their turn to renew registrations or, with exactly a month until the May 7 deadline, complete their applications for a Real ID.
“We knew this was coming,” Fabian Venegas told SFGATE from the back of the line. The San Francisco engineer was at the DMV to help his mom with her car registration and said he has an upcoming appointment to finalize his Real ID. He’s among the lucky ones, having scheduled that appointment over two months ago in preparation for the approaching deadline. “I knew there would be a rush,” Venegas said.
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On May 7, the Department of Homeland Security begins enforcement for new Real ID standards. With four weeks left to go, the DMV told SFGATE that the department is experiencing “an anticipated increase” of people as the deadline approaches. On the DMV website to schedule an appointment in San Francisco, there are no time slots available before the deadline.
“The DMV is seeing an increase in customers upgrading to a REAL ID across the Bay Area region, particularly at San Jose, Santa Clara, Oakland, San Francisco and Daly City offices,” Katarina Snow, a DMV information officer, told SFGATE in an email. She added that the DMV is monitoring the situation and will “make adjustments to appointment availability, as needed.”
The morning line into the DMV office in San Francisco on April 7, 2025.
Silas Valentino/SFGATE
To update to a Real ID, California residents must present proof of identity (full legal name and date of birth), a Social Security number and two forms proving they live in the state. The DMV has an online guide for applying for the program. If travelers decide against biting the bureaucratic bullet, they’ll have to present their passport even when flying to a domestic destination or when entering certain federal buildings.
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“The travel aspect threw me for a curve,” Venegas said. “Maybe it’s a way to weed out certain people.”
The Real ID program began in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to standardize how sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses, are issued. The first deadline in California was set for 2020, but the federal government pushed it back multiple times, first during the pandemic and then again until 2025.
Californians trying to update their ID can still visit a DMV office without an appointment but potentially face a long wait and time frame uncertainty. Stephanie Shiver works near the San Francisco office and was back in line Monday morning after a previous attempt to visit on Friday was detoured by a long line. The lifelong San Franciscan told SFGATE she was unfazed by the final rush of people updating to a Real ID.
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“Nobody wants to come here,” Shiver said. “That’s why it’s last minute.”
April 7, 2025
