Name: Oklahoma to begin issuing Real IDs Monday
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Oklahoma to begin issuing Real IDs Monday

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Carmen Forman Related coverageOklahoma will begin issuing Real ID driver’s licenses Monday, making it one of the last states to seek compliance with federal legislation passed in 2005.The state’s journey to comply with the federal Real ID Act is 15 years and roughly $20 million in the making.The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety will begin issuing Real ID-compliant licenses Monday at its Oklahoma City headquarters, 3600 N Martin Luther King Ave., and at its Edmond location at 28 E Main St. Several Edmond tag agencies also will start issuing the IDs next week.Through the end of the year, the Department of Public Safety will expand the Real ID rollout so the specialized licenses are being issued at all 33 Department of Public Safety offices and participating tag agencies throughout the state.The Real ID Act has a series of requirements intended to verify the identity of people before they are issued a driver’s license, to retain images and documentation associated with the license, to ensure the security of the licensing process and to protect the license itself from tampering.Oklahoma is one of that are not yet compliant with the federal Real ID Act — passed by Congress to increase security standards following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Oklahomans will have more time before a Real ID is required to fly within the U.S. The federal government pushed back to Oct. 1, 2021, the deadline for all states to be compliant with federal law.Oklahoma got a late start to Real ID because the Oklahoma Legislature passed and former Gov. Brad Henry signed into law in 2007 . Some lawmakers had concerns that the security verification measures to obtain a Real ID would help the federal government collect sensitive personal information.A decade later, former that allowed Oklahoma to begin the process of becoming Real ID-compliant.“It’s been a long road,” said Jeff Hankins, the state's director of driver license services. “It’s been this long, and finally seeing the final result, the final product, it’s like a baby being born.”The Department of Public Safety previously planned to start issuing the IDs this spring, but then COVID-19 hit.The virus thwarted plans to get the state’s Real ID vendor in Oklahoma to help train public safety employees and tag agents on document recognition and issuing Real IDs. Even now, the training sessions will have to be done with smaller groups, said Real ID Project Manager Randy Rogers.“It (COVID-19) just completely took our training and deployment plan and we’ve got to redo it,” he said.Oklahoma’s Department of Public Safety has spent about $20 million so far to implement Real ID, said agency spokeswoman Sarah Stewart.A large chunk of that has gone to global identity and security company, Idemia, which the agency hired to serve as a one-stop-shop for implementing Real ID, according to contracts reviewed by The Oklahoman. The company helped upgrade the Department of Public Safety’s software and hardware, designed the Real ID that prominently features the Oklahoma state Capitol and is taking the lead on training state employees on how to issue the new IDs.Late last year, the Department of Public Safety finalized a $1.5 million deal for Oklahoma City-based Jones PR to implement a wide-ranging media campaign to increase public awareness of Real ID implementation.Jones PR was hired when Oklahoma was facing a more imminent deadline for Real ID implementation. The campaign has been put on hold because of new challenges presented by COVID-19 and the federal implementation deadline being pushed back a year, Stewart said.“The bigger focus of the campaign was to help educate the public about who needs a REAL ID, who doesn’t and how to get a REAL ID,” she said. “We want that to be abundantly clear to Oklahomans to minimize the confusion we’ve seen happen in other states."A was signed into law in 2017 to help the agency cover Real ID costs.Gov. Kevin Stitt, , has been a driving force behind bringing the state in compliance with the Real ID Act. The Department of Public Safety has issued about 300 Real IDs so far to state employees, local reporters and others who went through the pilot production phase.For more information, visit .

Carmen Forman Related coverageOklahoma will begin issuing Real ID driver’s licenses Monday, making it one of the last states to seek compliance with federal legislation passed in 2005.The state’s journey to comply with the federal Real ID Act is 15 years and roughly $20 million in the making.The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety will begin issuing Real ID-compliant licenses Monday at its Oklahoma City headquarters, 3600 N Martin Luther King Ave., and at its Edmond location at 28 E Main St. Several Edmond tag agencies also will start issuing the IDs next week.Through the end of the year,...

Oklahoma to begin issuing Real IDs Monday

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