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Getting a North Carolina REAL ID
Your first North Carolina REAL ID cannot be obtained online. It can only be issued at a driver license office, where required documents will be scanned and permanently stored in your NCDMV record, as required by federal law.
Before heading to a driver license office to get your REAL ID, use our REAL ID Document Wizard to create a document checklist to make sure you have everything you need.
Create a personalized document checklist
Preparing for your visit
Use your checklist to gather the documents needed for your North Carolina REAL ID. Bring them as you visit a driver license office near you.
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What is REAL ID?
Beginning May 7, 2025, federal agencies will enforce the REAL ID Act, which requires a REAL ID, U.S. passport or another
federally approved identification to board commercial flights and enter secure federal buildings.
The North Carolina REAL ID is a REAL ID Act-compliant driver license or state ID card that is just like a traditional license or ID but has a star at the top. Driver licenses and IDs without a star are noted "Not for Federal Purposes."
North Carolina REAL ID driver licenses and IDs carry a star in the top right corner. 
Without a star, licenses and IDs now carry the stamp "Not for Federal Purposes."
North Carolina REAL ID is completely optional
You do not need a REAL ID driver license or identification card to do any of the following:
- Drive
- Vote
- Apply for or receive federal benefits (e.g., Veterans Affairs, Social Security Administration, etc.)
- Enter a federal facility that does not require an ID (e.g., a post office)
- Access a hospital or receive life-saving services
- Participate in law enforcement proceedings or investigations (e.g., serve on a federal jury, testify in federal court, etc.)
A REAL ID, however, might be helpful for anyone who frequently:
- Boards a commercial airplane
- Visits nuclear sites
- Visits military bases
- Visits federal courthouses, federal prisons or other federal facilities
An individual without a REAL ID or U.S. passport may still be able to board flights or make visits to the facilities mentioned above, but they may have to provide
additional documentation with their traditional license or ID.
Fees
Getting a North Carolina REAL ID driver license or ID card
costs the same as getting any other license or ID for the first time, and the process is similar.
Applying for a North Carolina driver license or ID card will cancel any licenses or ID cards from other states through the State-to-State Verification program.
If you get an North Carolina REAL ID outside of the renewal period, the cost is same as a
replacement license or ID card. You will have to take a new photo, but no tests are required.
The cost is the same as a
renewal if the REAL ID is obtained within six months of expiration. You will have to take a vision test and take a new photo.
Frequently asked questions
No. REAL ID licenses and ID cards are
completely optional.
Beginning May 7, 2025, however, having a REAL ID can make it more convenient if you frequently fly or visit military bases, nuclear sites, federal prisons, federal courthouses or other federal facilities.
If you don’t want to have a REAL ID, don’t worry. You will still be able to fly and visit these facilities. You will just need to provide additional identification, along with your standard license or ID.
No. You will still be able to drive, vote, go to the post office and do anything else you normally do.
REAL ID isn’t mandatory but will make it more convenient when you board commercial flights, or visit military bases, nuclear sites, federal prisons, federal courthouses or other federal facilities.
If you don’t have a REAL ID, you’ll still be able to fly and visit these facilities. You will just need to provide additional identification, along with your standard ID.
No. When you first get a REAL ID driver license or ID card, you must go to a
driver license office with the required documents so they can be scanned and added to your NCDMV record.
Once you get a REAL ID driver license or ID card, you will be able to renew it online, just like a standard license and ID card.
Nothing until May 7, 2025. That’s when federal agencies begin enforcing tougher security standards.
Then, you will need to provide additional identification along with your standard license or ID to board flights or to get into federal installations, nuclear power plants and military bases.
The following list is an example of federal facilities and installations in North Carolina that eventually will require a North Carolina REAL ID driver license or ID card (or standard driver license or ID card and
another federally accepted document) for admittance:
- Federal Correctional Complex in Butner
- Military bases
- Federal courthouses
- Nuclear power plants
There is no added fee for a North Carolina REAL ID license or ID card. The cost is the same as a standard driver license or ID card. The cost is the same as a renewal if you get a REAL ID within six months of expiration. If you get it outside the renewal period, the same as a duplicate ($16.75).
North Carolina REAL ID driver licenses and ID cards look identical to standard North Carolina licenses and IDs except that they have a star in the upper right corner that indicates the card meets federal REAL ID standards.
Standard licenses and ID cards are marked "Not for Federal Identification".
If
your name has changed and does not match the name on your certified
birth certificate, passport or other identifying information, you must
provide a proof of name change, such as:
- A certified marriage certificate or marriage license
- A divorce decree
- A certified document from the courts or Register of Deeds
- An
original international marriage license or a certified copy of an
international marriage license (with a raised seal or ink stamp with
initials of individual certifying the document) accompanied by a Name
Change Affidavit
No, driving records are maintained by the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles and are not shared.
North Carolina, like each state, issues its own unique
license, maintains its own records and controls access to those records.
The federal government requires that identifying information for REAL
ID-compliant cards be scanned into the applicant's NCDMV record.
REAL ID adds an extra level of security to a driver license and ID card
by making these documents more consistent and secure.
The Transportation Security Administration does not require children under 18 to provide identification when traveling with an adult companion within the United States. The companion, however, will need acceptable identification.
No, but foreign citizens must have a passport recognized by the U.S. government to enter North Carolina.
In response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005 to establish minimum security standards for state-issued driver licenses and IDs to help prevent fraudulent identification.
On May 7, 2025, the Transportation Security Administration will begin enforcing REAL ID requirements at airport security checkpoints. Federal agencies will begin requiring REAL ID-compliant licenses and IDs for admission to a variety of federal facilities.
Standards for licenses and ID cards that comply with the REAL ID Act were established by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.