Getting a California REAL ID in 2026

What a REAL ID is

The federal REAL ID Act sets which forms of identification may be used to board flights within the United States and to enter secure federal facilities such as military bases and federal courthouses. A California REAL ID license or ID card meets those rules and is marked with a golden bear and a star in the top right corner, as the DMV's What is REAL ID page explains. Since May 7, 2025, a REAL ID, a passport or another federally accepted document has been required for those two uses.

The other card the DMV issues reads Federal Limits Apply. It is a valid California license or ID card for driving and for proving identity and age, and the DMV says it may be used as photo identification but not as evidence of legal presence; it cannot be used to board domestic flights or enter secure federal facilities. The DMV also lists what does not need a REAL ID: applying for or receiving federal benefits, entering a post office or another federal facility that does not require identification, visiting a hospital, and riding Amtrak or other public ground transportation.

Who can get one

Any Californian who can prove current legal presence in the United States with one of the accepted identity documents, original or certified copy, is eligible, according to the DMV's page for non-U.S. citizens: U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and people with temporary legal status such as DACA and TPS recipients and holders of a valid student or employment visa. For temporary status the REAL ID expires on the same date as the legal presence document and is reissued on a documented extension (the limited-term license guide covers that). People applying for or renewing an AB 60 license are not eligible for a REAL ID.

The documents

The DMV asks for three things, and recommends building a list with its interactive REAL ID Checklist before the visit:

One identity document showing your date of birth and true full name, such as a valid U.S. passport, a certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate, or a valid Permanent Resident Card. For a lawfully present non-citizen the DMV lists an unexpired foreign passport with a valid U.S. visa and approved I-94, a valid Permanent Resident Card, a Permanent Resident Card with a Notice of Action (I-797 C) or Approval Notice (I-797), a valid Employment Authorization Document (I-766), a foreign passport stamped Processed for I-551, or documents showing TPS benefit eligibility. If the name on the document is not your current name, name change documents are required as well.

Two proofs of California residency showing your first and last name and the same address that will be on the card. The DMV's list includes a rental or lease agreement signed by the landlord and tenant, a deed or title, a mortgage bill, a home utility or cell phone bill, school documents with your date of birth, medical, employment and insurance documents, a tax return, a Postal Service change of address confirmation, a property tax bill, bank or credit card records, a voter registration confirmation, proof of resident tuition, court documents listing you as a California resident, a letter from a shelter, non-profit, faith-based organization, employer or government agency attesting that you live in California, a document issued by a U.S. government agency, and a California Certificate of Title or registration. With a PO Box, one document must show both the box and the physical address. A person whose name is on no residency document, a minor for example, can use documents in a parent's name together with a birth certificate or another document that connects the two names.

Your Social Security number on the application; the DMV notes that exceptions may apply.

How to apply

The DMV's REAL ID page lays out three steps. Gather the documents with the checklist. Complete the online application and upload images of the documents when prompted; the DMV says the upload saves time at the office, most uploads are verified the same day (evenings, weekends and holidays take longer), and the originals must still come to the visit. Save the confirmation code. Then visit a DMV office with the originals and the code; the DMV says to check wait times first, and that if a written test is required it is not given after 4:30 pm. The DMV calls the verified-upload path the DMV Express Experience and says choosing a different office than the one picked in the application loses it.

The REAL ID itself carries no separate fee on the DMV's fee schedule: it is a license or ID card application at the usual price, $46 for a Class C license and $40 for a regular ID card, as listed on the fees page. A REAL ID that already exists can be renewed online, per the DMV's REAL ID page.

DACA and TPS

DACA recipients have been able to apply for a license or ID card since June 15, 2012, on presentation of Department of Homeland Security documents; DACA approvals run two years, and the card expires with the legal presence document. At renewal the DMV mails a notice asking for the updated DHS extension document, and a REAL ID applicant cannot mail documents in: the renewal is a field office visit. If DACA status ends, the card stays valid until the expiration date printed on it; a license can be converted to an AB 60 license at a field office (appointment by phone at 1-800-777-0133 or online), with a Request for Cancellation or Surrender of Driver License or Identification Card (DL 142) for the old card, the application fee if applicable, and no knowledge, vision or drive test unless the record calls for one. The DMV says California law does not allow an ID card for a person who is not legally present, so an ID card cannot be renewed or converted after DACA status ends. A TPS beneficiary can get a REAL ID; the card is valid for the authorized stay, or for one year from the application date when the stay has no definite end.

Questions about the California REAL ID

Do I have to get a REAL ID?

No. The DMV says the REAL ID card is optional. It is needed to keep using a California license or ID card to board domestic flights or enter secure federal facilities; a U.S. passport, passport card, military ID or other federally accepted identification does the same job.

Can I get my first REAL ID by mail or online?

No. The DMV requires an in-person office visit with the identity and residency documents for the first REAL ID; once you hold one, you may be eligible to renew by mail or online later.

Do children need a REAL ID to fly?

No. The DMV says the TSA does not require anyone under 18 to show identification when flying within the U.S. with a companion; the companion needs acceptable identification.

Why must I show my identity documents again if the DMV already has them?

Because the DMV treats the REAL ID as a new form of identification with its own federal documentation rules; documents shown for an earlier license or ID card do not carry over.

What is the DMV residency letter?

A letter the DMV sends some REAL ID holders asking them to confirm the address or send two residency documents. If the address on the letter is right, check Yes, sign and return it in the prepaid envelope; if not, check No, sign it, add two residency documents with the current California address, and change the address with the DMV separately, since the documents alone do not change it.

Can DACA or TPS recipients get a REAL ID?

Yes, if their legal presence documents are current. The card expires on the same date as the legal presence document, and renewing it means a field office visit with the updated documents, never by mail.