REAL ID appointments now easier and quicker to make according to New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission

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For years, New Jersey residents trying to get a REAL ID driver’s license have bitterly complained about the lack of available appointments and long wait times at agency offices, but state officials say the Motor Vehicle Commission has made improvements, and getting a REAL ID is now quicker and easier.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration requires a REAL ID driver’s license or passport or an approved government document to pass through airport checkpoints and fly commercially. Travelers who show up at the airport without a REAL ID or a passport face longer wait times and must pay a $45 security fee.

During a news conference Thursday outside of the main state Motor Vehicle Commission office in Trenton, the commission’s acting chief administrator, Rosalie Johnson, said it took an average of 2 1/2 months to get a REAL ID appointment at the beginning of the year, but that wait time has been cut significantly.

New Jersey says getting a REAL ID appointment is easier

“We are at 40 days on average to get the REAL ID appointment, from 75, and we are going to continue to move the needle on that,” she said.

Johnson said REAL ID appointments have been added at agency offices in Trenton, Medford, South Brunswick and Springfield, which were previously used exclusively for vehicle services. She said the commission now allows REAL ID applicants to upload proof-of-residency documents to a mobile device, and those steps have made it quicker and easier to get an appointment.

“There might be some locations like Mercer County, where it’s 10 days, and there might be other locations where it’s 15 days or 20 days, but the 40 days is the average for the entire state,” Johnson said.

A commission spokesperson said the longest REAL ID wait times are in North Jersey, because it’s the most densely populated part of the state, but REAL ID applicants can travel to Central or South Jersey offices with available appointments to speed up the process if they wish.

More New Jersey residents have REAL ID

Gov. Mikie Sherrill said thanks to Motor Vehicle Commission improvements, more than 300,000 REAL ID applications have been processed since she took office on Jan. 20, including more than 100,000 in May, the highest one-month total ever.

The governor said more than 2.5 million New Jerseyans now have a REAL ID driver’s license, and the process to get one has markedly improved, which is good news for everybody.

“The number of people forced to make a second appointment has fallen by nearly half, so that [means] we can make sure you come in and get this done on the first try,” she said.

“We continue to see more and more people — about 7,000 a month right now — that don’t need to come back again for a second appointment,” Johnson said. “That’s 7,000 more appointments that are going to be open, and that number is going to continue to improve and grow.”

The percentage of licensed drivers and identification card holders with a REAL ID has increased from approximately 24% at the beginning of the year to nearly 28%, according to the most recent data from the governor’s office.

‘Make the appointment,’ say state officials

For too long, dealing with the Motor Vehicle Commission has been difficult for everyone, the governor said, including members of her own family.

“My husband and I, before we were even married, the biggest fights we got in were about going to the MVC and somebody forgetting some paperwork and having to return, [home]. It is really challenging,” she said.

Sherrill said when she campaigned for governor, people would tell her it took less time to get a passport than to get a REAL ID appointment.

“That’s not acceptable,” she said.

A message to New Jersey residents

Johnson said that to improve the Motor Vehicle Commission, officials began conducting visits at offices around the state at the beginning of the year to hear from front-line employees about how to make their work more efficient.

“Our first strategic priority initiative is to be seen as a predominantly positive experience in New Jersey,” she said. “If somebody has been frustrated in the past and they’re like, ‘Forget it. I’m not even going to try and make an appointment and get it done,’ I encourage and plead with them: Make the appointment.”

Johnson said REAL ID appointments are overbooked because a certain percentage of people who make appointments do not show up.

“That way we’re not wasting those time frames and those booking appointments, and we’re getting even more and more people in every single day,” she said.

The Motor Vehicle Commission requires specific documentation to get a REAL ID, and appointments must be made online. More information about REAL ID is available on the Motor Vehicle Commission website.