HAMLET – “Have you heard about the Gold Star?” the woman working at a station in the Hamlet building asked.
The N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) employee at the driver’s license building on College Street was asking about the new driver’s license and ID card that will be officially in use next year.
All the people serving customers were asking customers whether they knew about it and proceeded to explain it as they talked to customers about other business they had with the DMV. They were even talking about it on the phone to customers who called the office Friday.
The “Gold Star,” otherwise known as the N.C. Real ID driver’s license or ID card, costs $13, the same price of a duplicate driver’s license or ID card, the DMV workers said. People can get it now instead of a traditional duplicate license or ID card or instead of a traditional regular license or ID card, if it’s time to renew the license or ID card. But people will have to pay the same price for the N.C. Real ID as they would for renewal of a traditional driver’s license or ID card.
The N.C. Real ID is just like a traditional license or ID card but has a gold star at the top. Driver’s licenses and ID cards without a gold star are noted “Not for Federal Identification.”
Beginning in 2020, federal agencies will enforce tougher security standards at airport check-ins, federal buildings, military installations and nuclear sites.
People who want to get the Real ID have to show certain documents before they can get it.
They must be able to prove identity, date of birth and legal presence/lawful status (non-U.S. citizens) with one document with full name, such as a birth certificate; Social Security number with one document with full name and full Social Security number; any name change, such as through marriage or divorce, which is required only if the name is different from the name on the birth certificate, passport, another Real ID or other U.S. government documents; and proof of address, which requires two documents that show the current address in the state of North Carolina.
The N.C. Real ID website has information on which documents are valid ones to show. There are also pamphlets that explain the N.C. Real ID.
The website, ncrealid.gov , says getting it is completely optional. A person without an N.C. Real ID will still be able to board flights or enter federal facilities, but they will have to provide additional documentation with their traditional license or ID.
