West Virginia Carrying Out Real ID Driver's License Law

West Virginia continues to issue new driver’s licenses that meet national standards adopted after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, amid a refusal by a number of other states to carry out the federal Real ID law, Deputy Division of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Steven Dale told lawmakers this week.

Dale said the DMV began the effort with licenses up for renewal or applied for this year. West Virginia’s 1.3 million drivers must renew their licenses every five years.
“This gives all of our citizens the opportunity of going through the process without requiring them to come in and make a special trip,” Dale said. “If we had delayed implementing Real ID as of this year, not only would that have caused further inconvenience for our citizens, it also would have doubled up our workload.”

Once drivers get the new licenses, they won’t have to bring in the various identification documents required by Real ID for their next renewal because the agency is scanning and storing them electronically, Dale told a pair of House-Senate oversight committees.

West Virginia Carrying Out Real ID Driver's License Law