The requirement for Real ID’s officially goes into effect

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - May 7 is the official date Real ID's are required.

“In California as of may 1st, over 19 million Californians had upgraded to a real ID. That’s about 58%." said Eva Spiegel, Deputy Director in Public Affairs at DMV.

The date has been extended several times due to COVID-19 and logistics issues, but moving forward a real ID or a passport as well as enhanced ID cards will be acceptable.

At the Santa Barbara airport Wednesday, it was smooth sailing as the requirement for real ID's went into effect.

“Here at the Santa Barbara airport, we’ve been seeing great compliance," said Angi Daus, Santa Barbara airport Marketing Supervisor. "We’ve had very few individuals who had come to the check point and did not have a real ID and TSA has worked with them seamlessly and easily to make sure that they have the proper security compliance to be able to fly.”

The real ID is federally mandated to create security consistency through out the United States.

“The process was very easy," said Robert Scott Jr., who was traveling to Louisiana. "I went in and had all of my paper work and I was able to get it very quickly and I’ve been traveling with it ever since.”

The TSA says that prior to Wednesday's deadline, about 81% of all passengers already used a real ID or another acceptable form of identification.

“There has been a rush, we’ve been extra busy, but people are getting processed and they’re getting their real id applications through," said Spiegel.

To apply for a real ID visit their website.