The Timeline For Minnesotans Wanting A Real ID

The deadline of May 7th for having to have a Real ID to fly in the United States is coming quickly, but if you need a real ID before that date and you haven’t started the process yet, from what I’ve been told, you won’t be able to get it. 

Get our free mobile app

I applied for my Real ID in late March, and last week I called the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Driver and Vehicle Services Division to check on the timeline for me to get it and was told that those who applied on the same date I did were still 3 weeks away from being processed. 

When I called last week, I was calling exactly 30 days from when I applied. Luckily, I don’t need my Real ID on May 7th, but I will need it less than a month later.  

Along with being told that it would be at least three weeks before my application was processed, but it could take up to an additional fourteen days for the postal service to deliver the ID to my mailbox. 

When I applied for the Real ID, I was told it would likely be about six weeks or so before I would get it. The reason I called a month into the process was because the same day I applied for the Real ID, I also applied for a US Passport Card. 

If you’re not familiar with the Passport Card, there are a few differences between the card and the Passport Book. With the card, you can enter Canada and Mexico by land or sea, but not through the air. Also, the card is only $30, whereas the book costs a lot more. And the card doesn’t take as long to process. 

Even though you can get a Passport Card faster than the book, I figured it would take longer for the Passport Card to come than the Real ID, but the Passport Card came within 30 days. And that’s with an error that wasn’t caught for about two weeks, that I had to call the Passport Department to correct. 

Just like Christmas coming on December 25th, we’ve known that May 7th was coming for a while now. And I am not complaining about how long it takes to get the Real ID, but I was surprised the application would take a month and a half to even be evaluated.  

As Tom Petty sang in "The Waiting", “The Waiting Is the Hardest Part”, and if you’re waiting for your Real ID, I hope this schedule doesn’t put you into a bind or cause you to have to reschedule the plans you’ve already put on your calendar.  

"The waiting is the hardest part, everyday you see one more card, you take it on faith, you take it to heart, the waiting is the hardest part"- Tom Petty