After years of delays, Wednesday is the final deadline for Americans hoping to travel by air or enter federal buildings to obtain a Real ID.
Officials at Little Rock’s Clinton National Airport say the rollout has been smooth, and that travelers without a Real ID should arrive early for extra screening. Meanwhile, state revenue offices across Arkansas have been processing thousands of applications in the lead-up to the implementation deadline.
“It’s a record week, which isn’t surprising. Look back about a year, we were doing about 200 Real IDs on any given day. This week we’re issuing 10,000 a day, so we are doing 50 times the business today that we were a year ago,” said Scott Hardin, spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.
Hardin says staffers have been working longer hours to keep up with demand, with the goal of processing all Arkansans who show up to a revenue office before the close of business. He says some locations have been dealing with a shortage of cards upon which the Real ID is printed, which he says will be resolved by this week.
“We’ve been in touch with our vendor for weeks now knowing this was coming. It’s not unique to Arkansas, other states are facing the same thing… it’s a very specific item that has security measures within it, and we have to order them as needed,” he said.
Hardin says the state has issued just over 132,000 Real IDs from April to May of this year. He stressed that Wednesday isn’t the last day Arkansans can receive a Real ID – only the federal implementation date.
Beginning Monday, Hardin says the state will work to move all requests for duplicate IDs online in order to free up space for Arkansans seeking Real IDs at revenue offices.
To find all required documents needed to get a Real ID, visit the Department of Finance and Administration’s website.
