California DMV way behind in issuing Real IDs

Get in line now. California’s DMV is falling perilously short of its targets for issuing Real IDs and will have to more than double the number issued each month to reach the millions of drivers still without the federally required identification card before an Oct. 1 deadline, officials said Thursday.

With eight months to go, the state Department of Motor Vehicles has issued Real IDs to just 25% of California’s 27 million drivers since it began providing the new licenses in January 2018. The DMV would have to issue at least 1.1 million Real IDs each month to get them to all licensed drivers expected to apply for one by October.

The problem took on new urgency on Thursday when the DMV reported issuing an estimated 381,570 Real IDs in January, a drop from the number issued in each of the previous six months, including December’s total of 485,000 cards.

Adding to the uncertainty is the troubled history of the DMV, which has been beset by problems in the last two years including frequent computer system crashes, staffing problems, turnover of leadership and burdensome paperwork processes that in 2018 had some people waiting in line for four to five hours.

The failure of the DMV to mobilize and accommodate more residents needing the new federal cards could prevent millions of people lacking proper identification from boarding domestic airline flights this fall, officials say.

The new identification will be required by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as an extra public safety measure for air travel within the United States and to access secure federal facilities and military bases.

The DMV might receive a deluge of late applications as the deadline approaches and residents could again experience hours-long wait times at DMV field offices, some officials worry.

Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) said he is not surprised that the number of Real IDs issued decreased last month, while average wait times have crept up.

“We have been picking up on these growing delays in Central California,” said Patterson, vice chairman of the Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review. “The problem is the same as it’s always been. The DMV simply doesn’t have the capacity to do something this important on time.

“What’s coming next is a huge meltdown as the clock starts to run out. Californians, get ready for long wait times everywhere, all over again.”

DMV officials say they expect 16 million motorists to have applied for a Real ID before Oct. 1, and 7.1 million have been issued. The figure is based on expectations that many will wait until after the deadline because they don’t have air travel plans, or have a U.S. passport or other federal IDs that are also acceptable to board planes, agency officials said. Some might not apply at all because they don’t want a Real ID.

DMV Director Steve Gordon said Thursday he is not satisfied with the number of people who have gotten Real IDs so far, but he isn’t yet able to fully explain why the January numbers were down.

“We are very concerned,” said Gordon, who was appointed last year by Gov. Gavin Newsom as part of a shakeup of the beleaguered agency.