Long Islanders hold more REAL IDs than average New Yorkers

More than half of identity cards issued to Long Islanders by the Department of Motor Vehicles comply with the federal government’s REAL ID mandate, according to New York State statistics.

Islandwide, 56.9% of Long Island driver's licenses, learner's permits and non-driver IDs — 1.489 million of 2.618 million cards — comply with REAL ID, the post-9/11 law mandating tighter identity verification standards that went into effect a year ago after almost 17 years of complaints and delays.

Presenting a REAL ID or another legally acceptable identity document like a passport is now mandatory to pass certain security checkpoints, such as at federal buildings, military bases and airports. Without an acceptable ID, passengers must pay a $45 fine and answer personal questions, or risk missing a flight or being denied boarding entirely.

The rate of REAL ID compliance in Nassau County (57.5%: 711,491 of 1.237 million cards) is slightly higher than in Suffolk (56.3%: 777,847 out of 1.381 million).

Each county's compliance rate is higher than the state average, 53.1%, or 8.6 million out of 16.2 million, according to the statistics, provided to Newsday by the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

Comparable figures for all 62 New York counties were not immediately available.

Unlike New York, some states issue only REAL IDs and have been doing so for years, among them Colorado, whose residents had a 96% compliance rate as of last year, according to the state’s Division of Motor Vehicles, and Texas, which has a 98% compliance rate, according to Houston Public Media.

Last year, with the May 7 deadline looming to have a REAL ID or have trouble being able to fly, the DMV was inundated with appointments, which peaked that month "and remained high though the deadline and summer travel months last year," said Tim O’Brien, a DMV spokesman.

"We are not currently experiencing any issues with obtaining appointments," he told Newsday in an email.

In New York State, obtaining a REAL ID   or a more expensive enhanced ID — which can be used to cross the U.S. border with Canada, Mexico and some Caribbean countries and is also REAL ID-compliant — for the first time requires an in-person appointment.

It’s free to upgrade from a standard one to REAL ID if the expiration date is within a year, but an applicant must present additional proof beyond what is required for a non-REAL ID-compliant card, O'Brien said. The fee for those with a later expiration date is $12.50, he said.

The Transportation Security Administration said in February that between 95% and 99% of travelers at airports are presenting REAL IDs or other acceptable identity documents. 

REAL IDs are identifiable by the presence of a star or a flag on the document. Non-REAL IDs typically are branded with "NOT FOR FEDERAL PURPOSES."

The federal REAL ID legislation was enacted over 20 years ago — and set to take effect in 2008 — but kept being delayed because states kept objecting over logistics, costs and federalism.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.