Letter to the editor: Real ID experience no horror story

After reading about Real ID horror stories, my wife and I were ecstatic to find how easy it was to obtain our Real ID Pennsylvania driver’s licenses with the required gold star.

We took our information to the New Kensington Driver’s License Center: birth certificates with raised seals (we had new ones made in 1998, and they were acceptable); our current, unexpired Pennsylvania driver’s licenses along with our Pennsylvania vehicle registration card; one copy of a home utility bill; a certified marriage license certificate, issued by the county in which we were married (a certificate from a church won’t work); and our Social Security cards that carried the same names as on our birth certificates (except for the surname change of my wife via marriage, which is why the certified marriage license certificate is required).

We waited less than five minutes at the center, and registration took less than seven minutes. The wait for the camera card photo with the Real ID gold star on it took about another seven minutes. The new licenses arrived by mail about five days after our visit. What great service!

We want to compliment the staff at the New Kensington Driver’s License Center. They were friendly, professional and competent, and made the process simple.

We remind readers that after Oct. 1, 2020, Pennsylvania residents without a Real ID photo card or gold star driver’s license can’t use it as identification to fly on any airline or enter any federal building. Get it done. It’s as easy as 1-2-3.

Don Favero

Leechburg

Editor’s note: U.S. passports will remain a valid form of identification for airports and federal buildings.