REAL ID was a federally-mandated update to licensing adopted by Congress in the years following the 9/11 attacks. But now, 17 years after the passage of the federal legislation and a massive overhaul of Kentucky’s driver’s licensing system, the adoption rate remains low.
But Sarah Jackson, Kentucky’s REAL ID project manager, says now that the state’s 31 regional offices are operational and pandemic-related delays have slowed, a new campaign will start to make Kentuckians aware of the change – with the goal of increasing that REAL ID adoption rate.
"We're expecting in this state a final adoption rate of 35-45%," she told lawmakers Wednesday. "It's not as high as other states... but we were very, very late to the game. We were one of the last three or four states in the United States to enact, in state law, the federally-mandated program."
And it’s been a bumpy roll-out on many fronts.
But Jackson says the state is now able to focus on improving its operations and making them more efficient. The latest addition could save driver's a trip to licensing office.
"Our newest feature... is a posted notification each day, relative to each of the 31 offices, that we walk-ins have filled up," she explained.
Kentucky is a voluntary REAL ID state, meaning residents can either opt to adopt the upgraded IDs, which can be used to board domestic flights, or stick with less-expensive standard IDs, which can be used for driving, voting, and age-restricted purchases but not domestic flights.
