Kearns clarifies enhanced driver's license holders do not need to upgrade to REAL ID

If a New York state-issued driver’s license or non-driver ID has US flag on it, one already possesses a REAL ID

Submitted by the Office of Erie County Clerk Michael P. Kearns

Erie County Clerk Michael P. Kearns is instructing motorists in New York state who possess an enhanced version of their driver's license or non-driver identification card that they already comply with the REAL ID standard and do not need to take further action.

“We continue to receive numerous phone calls, emails and in-person inquiries at our DMV branches from customers with an enhanced license who were told they needed to upgrade to a REAL ID,” Kearns said. “I assure you: If you currently have a U.S. flag on your New York state-issued document, you are free to fly about the country.”

New York, along with four other states, offers an enhanced driver’s license, which requires the same application proof and meets the same criteria as the REAL ID to comply with upgraded federal standards. Applicants must also be U.S. citizens and pay an additional fee of $30.

Kearns and his staff have been told by customers that Transportation Security Administration agents, at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, as well as airports in Florida and elsewhere, have mistakenly informed them that they need a REAL ID displaying a star icon on their license or identification card, and said an enhanced document will not be accepted on or after the May 7 deadline – despite TSA’s website stating otherwise.

“I have contacted TSA directly a few times and shared the concerns of what we are hearing from the traveling public,” Kearns said. “They have assured me that New York state’s enhanced version is and will be accepted at all airports nationwide.”

Unlike a REAL ID, an enhanced license, permit or non-driver ID can also be used to cross the U.S. border by land or sea into Canada, Mexico and some Caribbean countries. A U.S. passport is still required to fly outside of the U.S. and for any cross-border travel to other countries.

To learn more about the REAL ID, review the list of acceptable documents required, or to schedule a DMV appointment, visit erie.gov/clerk/REALID or contact the clerk’s outreach center at 716-858-8864.