{"id":2184,"date":"2020-03-11T11:51:56","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T18:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/?page_id=2184"},"modified":"2025-08-20T10:46:35","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T17:46:35","slug":"real-id","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/","title":{"rendered":"REAL ID"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-dmv-columns content-columns colums-1-3-2-3\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-dmv-column col\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-dmv-illustration alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-content\/themes\/dmv\/dist\/images\/illustrations\/real_id_1.svg\" alt=\"Hand holding an ID card.\" class=\"dmv-illustration\" width=\"687\" height=\"620\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-dmv-column col\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-dmv-container shadow-box\">\n<section class=\"large-list-block\">\n\t<div class=\"large-list-block__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"large-list-block__title\">\n\t\t\t\tNeed a REAL ID? Here&#039;s How!\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ol class=\"large-list-block__list \">\n\t\t\t\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-dmv-large-list-content large-list-block__list-item\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/real-id-checklist\/\">Gather your documents with help from the checklist<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Use DMV\u2019s interactive REAL ID document checklist to gather all of the documentation you will need to apply for your REAL ID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span role=\"region\" class=\"format-label--important\"><span class=\"format-label__text\">Important<\/span> Watch this video to learn how to <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ILbrTbz3uLM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Upgrade to a REAL ID Now<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-dmv-large-list-content large-list-block__list-item\">\n<p><a href=\"\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/dl-id-online-app-edl-44\/\">Complete the application online and upload your documents<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the online REAL ID application process, you will be prompted to upload documents that prove identity (e.g., valid passport or birth certificate) and residency (e.g., utility bill, bank statement). Uploading images of these documents online will save you time when you visit the DMV office to complete your application so don\u2019t skip this step. <strong>Bring the original documents submitted online to your REAL ID appointment.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Save your confirmation code &#8211; you will need it for your office visit.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-dmv-large-list-content large-list-block__list-item\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/locations\/field-offices\/\">Visit a DMV office<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bring the original documents you submitted online&nbsp;and your confirmation code.<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/current-field-office-wait-times\/\">Check wait times<\/a> before you go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a written test is required, tests are not available at DMV offices after 4:30 p.m.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n\t\t\t<\/ol>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p><span role=\"region\" class=\"format-label--note\"><span class=\"format-label__text\">Note<\/span> <strong>Already have a REAL ID? <\/strong>Renew your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/driver-license-id-card-online-renewal\/\">REAL ID online<\/a>!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-dmv-spacer-block spacer-box\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">More About REAL ID<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"featured-tiles-block full-width full-width--slant\">\n\n\t<div class=\"container container--full\">\n\t\t\n\n\t<div class=\"content-tile\">\n\t\t<div class=\"content-tile__info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>REAL ID Checklist<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>To apply for a REAL ID, you must present documents that show your date of birth and your true full legal name. Select which documents you&#8217;ll use to get your REAL ID.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content-tile__ctas\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/real-id-checklist\/\">Create your checklist<\/a><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\t<div class=\"content-tile\">\n\t\t<div class=\"content-tile__info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>What is a REAL ID?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A REAL ID is a driver&#8217;s license or identification card that is also a federally accepted form of identification. REAL ID cards are marked with a golden bear and a star.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content-tile__ctas\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/what-is-real-id\/\">Learn about REAL ID<\/a><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\t<div class=\"content-tile\">\n\t\t<div class=\"content-tile__info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>Second Residency FAQs<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Learn more about how Second Residency is accounted for when applying for a REAL ID.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content-tile__ctas\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/what-is-real-id\/second-residency-faqs\/\">Review FAQs<\/a><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More About REAL ID<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"parent":2600,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"dmv_page_popups":[],"dmv_ribbon_color":"#EEF6FB","dmv_top_illustration":"adult_walking_suitecase.svg","dmv_page_title":"","dmv_page_subtitle":"","dmv_exclude_from_search_results":false,"dmv_allowed_editors":[],"dmv_display_translate_button":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[3240,3243,3234,3249,1951,3246,3237],"dmv_task":[10],"dmv_functional_page_type":[64],"dmv_content_type":[],"class_list":["post-2184","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-real-id","tag-apply-for-real-id","tag-dl-real-id","tag-documents-for-real-id","tag-gather-documents","tag-real-id","tag-real-id-checklist","tag-what-is-a-real-id","dmv_task-licensing","dmv_functional_page_type-informational"],"featured_image_src":null,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Apply for REAL ID - California DMV<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Need a REAL ID driver&#039;s license or ID card? Here&#039;s how!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Apply for REAL ID - California DMV\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Need a REAL ID driver&#039;s license or ID card? Here&#039;s how!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"California DMV\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CADMV\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-20T17:46:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-content\/themes\/dmv\/dist\/images\/illustrations\/real_id_1.svg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ca_dmv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/\",\"name\":\"Apply for REAL ID - California DMV\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-content\/themes\/dmv\/dist\/images\/illustrations\/real_id_1.svg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-11T18:51:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-20T17:46:35+00:00\",\"description\":\"Need a REAL ID driver's license or ID card? Here's how!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-content\/themes\/dmv\/dist\/images\/illustrations\/real_id_1.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-content\/themes\/dmv\/dist\/images\/illustrations\/real_id_1.svg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Driver&#8217;s Licenses &#038; Identification Cards\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"REAL ID\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/\",\"name\":\"California DMV\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/#organization\",\"name\":\"State of California Department of Motor Vehicles\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/uploads\/2022\/06\/DMV_Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/uploads\/2022\/06\/DMV_Logo.png\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"State of California Department of Motor Vehicles\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CADMV\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/ca_dmv\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ca_dmv\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ca-department-of-motor-vehicles\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/CaliforniaDMV\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Apply for REAL ID - California DMV","description":"Need a REAL ID driver's license or ID card? Here's how!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Apply for REAL ID - California DMV","og_description":"Need a REAL ID driver's license or ID card? Here's how!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/","og_site_name":"California DMV","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CADMV","article_modified_time":"2025-08-20T17:46:35+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-content\/themes\/dmv\/dist\/images\/illustrations\/real_id_1.svg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@ca_dmv","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/","name":"Apply for REAL ID - California DMV","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-content\/themes\/dmv\/dist\/images\/illustrations\/real_id_1.svg","datePublished":"2020-03-11T18:51:56+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-20T17:46:35+00:00","description":"Need a REAL ID driver's license or ID card? Here's how!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-content\/themes\/dmv\/dist\/images\/illustrations\/real_id_1.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-content\/themes\/dmv\/dist\/images\/illustrations\/real_id_1.svg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/real-id\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Driver&#8217;s Licenses &#038; Identification Cards","item":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/driver-licenses-identification-cards\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"REAL ID"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/","name":"California DMV","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/#organization","name":"State of California Department of Motor Vehicles","url":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/uploads\/2022\/06\/DMV_Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/uploads\/2022\/06\/DMV_Logo.png","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"State of California Department of Motor Vehicles"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CADMV","https:\/\/x.com\/ca_dmv","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ca_dmv\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ca-department-of-motor-vehicles\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/CaliforniaDMV"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2184"}],"version-history":[{"count":68,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":291716,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2184\/revisions\/291716"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2184"},{"taxonomy":"dmv_task","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dmv_task?post=2184"},{"taxonomy":"dmv_functional_page_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dmv_functional_page_type?post=2184"},{"taxonomy":"dmv_content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dmv_content_type?post=2184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}