Apr 26, 2025 3 min read

A customer takes a number in a driver’s license center, sits down, and settles in for a long wait.

It’s a familiar trope in movies and television, and at the moment, it’s a reality at most centers in Pennsylvania as residents clamor to get REAL IDs.

With 10 days to go until the identification card requirement goes into effect, the lines at Pennsylvania Department of Transportation license centers are literally out the door, followed by another wait inside.

Reporter Karen Mansfield headed out to a license center in Bridgeville on April 18 and found a line 80 people deep had already accumulated about 30 minutes before the center opened.

By 10 a.m., the wait was three hours, according to one would-be customer who left rather than wait.

This scenario is playing out across the commonwealth as people clamor to have the ID in hand by the May 7 deadline.

For anyone who’s been living under a rock the past couple of months, adults who want to board a domestic flight – and don’t have a valid passport – need the identification card to get on the plane. It’s also necessary to access certain federal facilities, including military bases.

For those with no desire to get a REAL ID, it’s not necessary to drive, vote, visit the post office, access federal courts or apply for or receive federal benefits.

Those with a passport (and no desire to wait in hours-long lines) needn’t panic. That works as an acceptable form of ID to do all of those things, said Mike Carroll, Pennsylvania’s secretary of transportation.

“If you have no immediate travel plans, or you already have a valid passport, maybe hold off for a few months until the rush dies down,” Carroll said Tuesday.

As of April 22, about 2.5 million eligible Pennsylvanias – an estimated 27% – had obtained a REAL ID, according to PennDOT. The process requires a number of documents, including proof of identity, proof of Social Security number and proof of residence.

To help those who need a REAL ID by May 7, there are two upcoming REAL ID Days at license centers: April 28 and May 5. Both are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on Mondays, when centers are typically closed.

Locally, they are in Uniontown, Washington and Belle Vernon; however, patrons won’t walk out of the office with a REAL ID in hand. The documents necessary to get a REAL ID will be scanned, and customers will receive the card in the mail within 15 business days.

There are several centers that have the capability to print the cards on the spot, including Jeanette, Bridgeville and Allison Park.

For the next several days, expect the long waits to continue.

While it may be tempting to be sharp tongued with the PennDOT employees who are serving you, remember this: It’s been possible to get a REAL ID since March 1, 2019, and it’s been widely publicized since.

Your wait isn’t their fault, so be patient and kind.

For more information on what’s needed to get a REAL ID, go to Pa.gov./realid/.