Some Iowans will soon have two drivers license options. The Iowa Department of Transportation will be issuing what are called “REAL I.D.” cards that double as a driver’s license and an identification card for expediting security checks at airports and federal installations such as U.S. courthouses.
Congress passed what is called “The REAL I.D. Act” seven years ago after a recommendation from the commission that studied the 9-11 attacks. The director of the D.O.T.’s motor vehicle division, Mark Lowe, says beginning in January, anyone who hasn’t previously held an Iowa driver’s license will be receiving the new REAL I.D. card because they’ll be already be presenting a birth certificate and other verification documents.
“And we view it differently for current drivers license and I.D. holders because they may decide, I really don’t need to go through the hassle of getting those documents, I’ve already been through the enrollment process — maybe a long time ago — and I don’t need to use that driver’s license or I.D. for the federal purposes that the marking is required for. We’re not going to put them through that hassle,” Lowe says.
There is no extra charge for the REAL I.D. card. Many states are choosing not to issue new cards, but Iowa’s D.O.T. made the decision last week to implement the system starting January 15th.