Officials say less than half of Oahu drivers have REAL-ID compliant licenses
Sample driver’s licenses and state ID cards with the “star in a gold circle” required for domestic air travel if used as ID at airport security checkpoints starting Oct. 1, 2020.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / JULY 2018
Appointments to renew your driver’s license can be made up to six months before the expiration date at 10 locations across Oahu. People wait to renew their licenses in Hawaii Kai.
Ron Hirsch of Honolulu is one of those people who likes to be prepared ahead of time.
Hirsch, who is semi-retired, went to the satellite city hall at Chinatown Gateway Plaza at 1041 Nuuanu Ave. on Tuesday afternoon to get the required “star in a gold circle” on his driver’s license.
“I want to travel and don’t want to think about it later on,” he said. “I don’t want to get stopped.”
Starting Oct. 1, 2020, the Transportation Security Administration says air travelers 18 and older will need the REAL-ID driver’s license or other acceptable forms of ID to fly within the United States.
With less than a year left, the Honolulu Department of Customer Services on Tuesday said that more than 50% of Oahu motorists have yet to get a driver’s license featuring the required “star in a gold circle” and urged Oahu residents to check on their REAL ID status.
Of the 645,328 active driver’s licenses issued on Oahu, 308,436, or 47.8%, have the gold star in the upper-right hand corner, signaling it is a REAL-ID license.
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“We don’t want residents to panic,” said Sheri Kajiwara, director of the city’s Department of Customer Services, in a news release. “But if residents choose to use a Hawaii driver license or identification card to board a commercial flight or gain access to secure federal facilities, including military bases, now is the time to act.”
The TSA, state and county officials in late September held a news conference at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport to remind travelers of the new requirement, but to also inform them of other acceptable forms of ID.
Most people who travel use a driver’s license as ID for the TSA security checkpoint. However, the TSA will accept other forms of ID, including U.S. passports, permanent-resident cards and U.S. Department of Defense IDs.
Driver’s licenses can be renewed up to six months prior to the expiration date, and an appointment to renew a license at a center can be booked six months in advance.
In Honolulu, residents who already have presented themselves in person after 2014 can order an exact driver’s license duplicate with the star online, as long as all of their necessary documents — such as proof of legal presence, legal name, date of birth, Social Security number and principal address or residence — are already on file.
There is a $6 fee for the duplicate license and a $1 online processing fee, and the card will only be mailed to the address on file, according to Customer Services. No changes are allowed, and REAL ID-compliant cards are not mailed out of state or out of the country.
Travelers who plan to use a state identification card for the airport security line also will need a gold star, starting Oct. 1, 2020.
City officials say of 265,765 state identification cards, 54,857, or 20.6%, so far have the star in a gold circle in the upper right-hand corner.
State ID cards can be renewed up to six months ahead of expiration, as well, but requests for duplicates must be done in person, and can not be done online.
Additionally, residents may add a gold star to either a driver’s license or a state ID card — but may not have a gold star on both.
For non-federal purposes, all Hawaii driver’s licenses and IDs are valid through their expiration date.
GETTING A STAR
To obtain a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license on Oahu, residents will need to make an initial in-person visit to a driver’s license facility with a completed application and the required documents.
>> There is no additional fee to obtain a REAL ID-compliant card.
>> Fees for driver’s licenses and state IDs are $5 annually. An eight-year license or ID card is $40; a four-year license is $20; a two-year license is $10. The fee for a duplicate of a valid license is $6.
>> For residents who need to renew their credentials or present documents for the first time in person, the city encourages making an appointment to avoid wait time.
>> Appointments can be made up to six months before the expiration date at 10 locations across Oahu.
>> For additional information about required documents, email complaints@honolulu.gov.
>> More information is available at honolulu.gov/csd.
