AIKEN, S.C. () — Wednesday is the last day to get that gold star on your license — the Real ID — if you want to fly or get into federal buildings.
“I traveled to Brazil, I traveled back to Vermont and I traveled a lot of places that I need the card for,” Aiken County resident Charles Nickless said.

The DMV says it’s expecting big crowds as summer travel ramps up. Right now, about 62 percent of South Carolina licenses have the gold star. In Aiken, people rushed to get their Real ID before the May 7th deadline.

“People tell me you can’t even go in the tax office without it on your driver’s license, so I gotta come up here and get it done,” Warrenville resident Adelbert Quackenbush added.

That’s not quite true — you don’t need it for the tax office. But you do need extra documents to get one to fly or enter federal buildings. It was created after 9/11 to prevent identity fraud and terrorism.

“I had to fill out some paperwork and show my birth certificate, social security card and I already had a real ID in another state so I turned that in,” Aiken resident Christine Shea recalled.

Even if you miss the deadline, Homeland Security says you can still fly — just bring extra ID.
81% of travelers already have a Real ID, so most won’t notice a change. Leaders say it won’t affect wait times if you’re prepared.

“Several months ago, it was on Facebook and all that. Your driver’s license, if it had the logo at the top corner corner it would suffice. Well you gotta have a star. So I had to come and get a star, but they did me a favor, so instead of having to renew my license in three years, now I got one for eight,” Nickless said.

If you missed the deadline, don’t panic.

You can still get the Real ID — just make an appointment.