You Now Have More Time to Get Your Minnesota REAL ID
Minnesota was late to the party when it comes to REAL IDs anyway
Minnesota was one of the last states in the country to start issuing the new, enhanced REAL IDs. State lawmakers originally were concerned about protecting your identity, given the extra level of paperwork needed to get the new IDs, but once they realized the federal government was going to require flyers in the U.S. to have them ANYWAY, they finally relented and started issuing them a few years ago.
The deadline here in Minnesota for having you have a REAL ID (which, here in Minnesota could be your driver s license or stand-alone state ID card) in order to board any domestic flight or gain entry into any federal property was October 1st.
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If your driver s license or Minnesota ID card is expired and you ve been waiting to get it renewed, time is officially running out.
That s the word from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Driver and Vehicle Services (DPS-DVS). They said in a release Wednesday (January 27) that the COVID-19 extension which first went into effect last spring when the pandemic started and state offices and license centers closed is set to expire on March 31st.
That means if you have a Minnesota driver’s license or ID cards that would have expired between March 13, 2020, and Feb. 28th this year, you ll need to get them renewed before the end of March. That s because the expiration date on these cards was extended to March 31, 2021, thanks to legislation signed by Gov. Walz last spring. And ahead of that deadline, if you have a driver’s license or ID card that is set to expire March 1st or after, you ll need to get it renewed by the expiration