Enhanced Driver’s Licenses and REAL ID

If you have had to get a driver’s license recently, you may have noticed that you were required to bring in a lot more documentation to prove your identity, residence, and citizenship. You may have been asked to bring documents like your passport, birth certificate, Social Security Card, utility bills, and lease agreement – even if you already hold a valid driver’s license!

The reason you need to bring so much more documentation is because of the Federal REAL ID act, which is intended to set national standards for state-issued identification cards like driver’s licenses and non-driver IDs. In certain states, you may also have to bring additional documentation if you want to acquire an Enhanced Driver’s License which may be used like a passport card to cross land borders between the US, Canada, and Mexico.