With less than a month before travelers will need to show a REAL ID before boarding commercial flights in the U.S., 18 state DMV offices will open one hour early, four days a week through June 7 to serve appointment-only customers seeking the federally mandated cards.
The cards will also be required to enter federal buildings and military installations.
The offices that will open early include four in San Diego County that will open at 7 a.m. instead of 8 a.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and devote the early hour exclusively to people with REAL ID appointments.
Compliance with the law — which was passed in 2005 as part of the response to the 9/11 attacks — has been delayed multiple times since the original 2008 deadline.
But now that the deadline is near, and many people are scrambling to get what will essentially be a revamped driver’s license.
“We’re excited to offer Californians earlier hours this spring and summer,” state DMV Director Steve Gordon said. “These additional appointments will make it easier than ever to obtain a REAL ID.”
More information on gtting the updated ID is available here.
Here are the offices opening early within San Diego County:
- El Cajon, 1450 Graves Ave.
- Poway, 13461 Community Rd.
- Clairemont, 4375 Derrick Dr.
- San Marcos, 590 Rancheros Dr.
On Wednesdays, DMV office hours at the participating locations will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The federal REAL ID Act goes into effect May 7.
