GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Wednesday is the deadline to get your REAL ID so you fly within the country.
Airport officials and Division of Motor Vehicles leaders are sharing what people should know, especially before booking any summer trips.
"If you're going to fly, on or after May 7 of this year, you're going to want to make sure your driver license or ID card is REAL ID compliant," said Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles Administrator, Tommy Winkler.
Winkler is urging all drivers to check their license and said, "Everyone can pull out their driver license and ID card and look and see if they have a star in the upper right-hand corner."
That little star is a big requirement if you're planning to fly domestically.
"Go ahead and take care of that right away. You know, you don't want to procrastinate and get close to your trip and then have to worry about it," said Appleton International Airport Administrator Abe Weber.
Weber says most passengers who fly from Appleton already have their REAL ID, but if you don't, you can use your passport, passport card, or another trusted travel document, like Global Entry.
"If you don't have any of those, you can still go through the checkpoint, but know that it might be delayed, because you will require additional screening," Weber said.
Winkler says many DMVs across the state have reported longer wait times since more people are rushing to get their information updated.
Winkler urges people who haven't registered their REAL ID yet to do as much as they can online, and then you can bring the rest of your documents to your local DMV to make sure everything is correct.
To learn more about the Wisconsin REAL ID, you can click here.
