Should I get a regular drivers license or a Real ID?
June 6, 2018 3:54 PM Subscribe
I have to renew my NY driver's license. NY has the option of Real IDs and Enhanced IDs. ..
Both will allow you to board domestic flights without passports ( passports will be required for domestic flights starting next year apparently ). And the Enhanced will let you in Federal buildings or something.
My question is: Should I get the regular license and deal with the passport on flights issue, or get the Real ID for the convenience of not using the passport . My hesitation with the Read ID is the RFID chip installed within. The regular license may even have too but I know the Real ID does. Am I being paranoid about being tracked? Does it even matter at this point?
Both will allow you to board domestic flights without passports ( passports will be required for domestic flights starting next year apparently ). And the Enhanced will let you in Federal buildings or something.
My question is: Should I get the regular license and deal with the passport on flights issue, or get the Real ID for the convenience of not using the passport . My hesitation with the Read ID is the RFID chip installed within. The regular license may even have too but I know the Real ID does. Am I being paranoid about being tracked? Does it even matter at this point?
Under the current administration and given the wholesale dismissal of civil liberties and rights, I don't think you're paranoid. However, RFID cannot be tracked. RFID doesn't broadcast; it reflects.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:01 PM on June 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by DarlingBri at 4:01 PM on June 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: DarlingBri thanks, I think the RFID is used in border crossings ( from what I've read). So it's not a tracking device? It just "reflects" a number or code that IDs me? I wonder how that would work as a passport, assuming no actual person info is stored on it.
posted by Liquidwolf at 4:11 PM on June 6, 2018
posted by Liquidwolf at 4:11 PM on June 6, 2018
Your US passport has an RFID anyhow, so at least as far as airports are concerned you’d be in the same situation either way.
posted by nat at 4:16 PM on June 6, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by nat at 4:16 PM on June 6, 2018 [4 favorites]
RFID is essentially a very fancy version of a barcode: it carries identifying information, just like the barcode or magnetic strip that is probably already on your driver's license. The major difference as far as I can tell is that it can be read from a distance, versus needing to be put physically into the scanner. It's what they use in pet microchips--you can scan the dog, and get its identifying information, but it doesn't tell you where the dog is. And, as nat says, there's already one in your passport.
I don't think you're paranoid, but the fact that your passport has RFID anyway, coupled with the risk of losing both passport and ID card while travelling and being totally without identfication, would push me toward REAL ID.
posted by assenav at 4:29 PM on June 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
I don't think you're paranoid, but the fact that your passport has RFID anyway, coupled with the risk of losing both passport and ID card while travelling and being totally without identfication, would push me toward REAL ID.
posted by assenav at 4:29 PM on June 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
I think you may have gotten a bit mixed up. Enhanced DLs have an RFID chip, RealIDs do not.
posted by kickingtheground at 4:33 PM on June 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by kickingtheground at 4:33 PM on June 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Enhanced DLs have an RFID chip, RealIDs do not.
I thought I'd read that they both did. If not then I wonder what's different about the REAl ID ( than the regular) that allows you to travel without a passport.
posted by Liquidwolf at 4:56 PM on June 6, 2018
I thought I'd read that they both did. If not then I wonder what's different about the REAl ID ( than the regular) that allows you to travel without a passport.
posted by Liquidwolf at 4:56 PM on June 6, 2018
Doesn’t Real ID require more detailed and in-depth proof of identity in order to get the ID? I thought that was the whole point of switching to Real ID ... so the jurisdiction could do a “stronger” check to prove who the person actually is, and therefore weed out people who are using fake documents to get a DL. ( e.g. undocumented immigrants with fake papers)
posted by mccxxiii at 5:07 PM on June 6, 2018
posted by mccxxiii at 5:07 PM on June 6, 2018
Best answer: I remember looking at this when I got my license renewed last year, and from what I recall, here are the differences:
-regular DL - not good for anything other than driving, only requirements to get it are the basic NY state requirements
-real ID - requires more documentation to prove name, address, citizenship than the regular license, can be used for domestic travel, doesn’t cost more than the regular license, can’t be used for border crossings
-enhanced license - requires the same documentation as a passport, can be used for land border crossings and domestic flights, costs more money, has an RFID
In your case, if you already have a passport and plan to keep it up to date, then the regular license is probably fine (that’s what I did, though I’ll probably move to enhanced soon because I live in a border town.)
posted by okayokayigive at 5:11 PM on June 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
-regular DL - not good for anything other than driving, only requirements to get it are the basic NY state requirements
-real ID - requires more documentation to prove name, address, citizenship than the regular license, can be used for domestic travel, doesn’t cost more than the regular license, can’t be used for border crossings
-enhanced license - requires the same documentation as a passport, can be used for land border crossings and domestic flights, costs more money, has an RFID
In your case, if you already have a passport and plan to keep it up to date, then the regular license is probably fine (that’s what I did, though I’ll probably move to enhanced soon because I live in a border town.)
posted by okayokayigive at 5:11 PM on June 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster:
Doesn’t Real ID require more detailed and in-depth proof of identity in order to get the ID?
Yeah, you need more proof of ID and address.
posted by Liquidwolf at 5:12 PM on June 6, 2018
Doesn’t Real ID require more detailed and in-depth proof of identity in order to get the ID?
Yeah, you need more proof of ID and address.
posted by Liquidwolf at 5:12 PM on June 6, 2018
Response by poster: Thanks for the help everyone. Looks like the REAl ID is the one. And I won't worry about getting tracked. ......except by my phone.
posted by Liquidwolf at 5:18 PM on June 6, 2018
posted by Liquidwolf at 5:18 PM on June 6, 2018
If you really wanted to avoid getting a Real ID NY driver's license for whatever reason, another option would be to get a regular license plus a separate federal Passport Card, which is a federally-issued ID card (license-sized) that provides the same Real ID benefits (though doesn't let you drive).
It does also let you do land border crossings same as an Enhanced license, but doesn't replace a regular passport for other situations.
posted by Pryde at 6:50 PM on June 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
It does also let you do land border crossings same as an Enhanced license, but doesn't replace a regular passport for other situations.
posted by Pryde at 6:50 PM on June 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
My wife and I have what Connecticut calls a "verified" drivers license. I suppose it's the same as the NY Real ID. To get it, you need all the documents you would need to get a passport, and the promise was that it would suffice for travel instead of a passport at some time in the future.
In the years we've had them, there has never been a time that an "unverified" license would not have served as just as well. This includes air travel, but not travel out of the country.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:45 AM on June 7, 2018
In the years we've had them, there has never been a time that an "unverified" license would not have served as just as well. This includes air travel, but not travel out of the country.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:45 AM on June 7, 2018
It's really too late to be concerned about being tracked. In one way or another, either through your credit cards, your passport, or through your phone, the potential is there now. And, personally, I think your phone is much more dangerous than your DL (hope you've turned off location services and made turned off the part of your phone that simply creates a track of where you've been).
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 1:29 PM on June 8, 2018
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 1:29 PM on June 8, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Liquidwolf at 4:01 PM on June 6, 2018