Editorial: Don't be alarmed, but act now to get your REAL ID

Ten months ahead of the deadline, it would be alarmist to say that time is running out to get your REAL ID Illinois driver's license. But it's certainly not too early to urge you to act now if you intend to use your license or state ID as identification when you fly or visit various federal installations after next Oct. 1.

The REAL ID is a process Congress created in 2005 to help ensure the accuracy and the consistency from state to state of government-issued identification cards. The deadline for all states to implement this system is Oct. 1, 2020. After that date, people wanting to fly domestically who do not have a REAL ID driver's license or state identification card will have to show a passport.

The public's growing anxiety about having the updated REAL ID license has led to now-familiar lengthy wait times at Illinois Secretary of State branches, and the agency's website, www.cyberdriveillinois.com, describes how additional hours have been added at some offices to accommodate the crowds, including at branches in Aurora, Des Plaines, Deerfield, Elgin, Elk Grove Village, Lake Zurich, Lombard, Naperville, Schaumburg, Waukegan, West Chicago and Woodstock. It seems only logical to assume that, additional operating hours or not, the lines are only going to get longer as next autumn approaches.

So, it's time now to make plans to get the new card if you expect to fly in the United States. Except for those infamous wait times, which can run two hours or more, the process is not onerous, as long as you take the right documents to your branch office. According to the secretary of state, these include:

• a passport, birth certificate, green card or certain other citizenship documents;

• a Social Security card, a W-2 form, pay stub or certain tax documents containing your name and Social Security number;

• two documents showing proof of residency, such as a utility bill, bank statement, insurance policy or other official correspondence; and

• something with your signature, which could be a signed driver's license or credit card, a canceled check, a Social Security card or certain other official records.

The REAL ID section of the secretary of state's website also includes a process for creating your own checklist to make sure you have the documents you need.

Keep in mind that you don't need the REAL ID if you're comfortable using your passport to fly domestically or if you don't plan to fly at all. Nor do you need to make the change if your driver's license is expiring before the Oct. 1 deadline, as long as you have the appropriate documents with you when you renew. You have a lot on your mind during the holiday season, of course, so spending several hours at a secretary of state's office probably doesn't rank high on your list of things to do in the next two weeks. But in this period of New Year's resolutions, it is a good time to commit to taking care of this responsibility sooner rather than later.