PITTSBURGH, PA (WJER) -Travel officials are urging people to update their IDs before they run into problems this time next year.

AAA Spokesman Jim Garrity says the new nationwide standards called “REAL ID” take effect next fall. Garrity says while no one is required to get a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license and updating to one carries no additional cost, failing to update will limit how a person can travel domestically.

“In October 2020, you have to have REAL ID-complaint identification to board an airplane inside or outside of America no matter where you’re heading, to get into federal facilities or to access nuclear power plants,” he says.

Garrity says the IDs can be obtained at any BMV, but he says you will need to bring documents to prove your full legal name, date of birth, social security number and two proofs of residency.

“For some people, it’s going to take a little bit of time to find the documents that meet all the state and federal requirements to obtain the ID, so it’s going to take a little bit of time, so it’s probably better to act sooner rather than later,” he says. 

Garrity says the ID’s have to be mailed rather than being issued the same day by the BMV. He says they usually take about 10 days to arrive. 

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