North Carolina: REAL ID Implementation on Hold

North Carolina is not one of the states that has joined the REAL ID Rebellion. By all accounts, it was plodding along, getting ready to implement the federal government's national ID mandate.

But now comes news that the changes North Carolina had planned are on hold. "'The Real ID Act is pretty much at a standstill nationwide,' said Marge Howell, a spokeswoman for the Division of Motor Vehicles," according to one report:

As a means of complying with the federal Real ID Act, the state DMV had planned on implementing a requirement that people who apply for a new or renewed driver's license start producing documentation showing the motorist's proof of identity and legal address beginning Dec. 1. That has now been delayed.

Another change, set to begin on July 1, requires the DMV to mail a motorist's license to a residential address instead of instantly issuing a license. Howell said that program won't go into effect statewide at the beginning of July. Instead, the DMV plans to phase that program in.

Even the compliant states are getting the message that REAL ID is a non-starter.

I recently queried whether one of the largest companies producing driver's licenses would continue to agitate for the national ID law or embrace a diverse, competitive identification and credentialing marketplace.