The options

REAL ID: You can use this license or ID card to board domestic flights and enter federal facilities and military bases. Applying for this requires an in-person visit to a D.M.V. office. It is available to citizens and legal residents.

REAL IDs have a star at the top right of the card.

Enhanced: You can use this card to board domestic flights and enter federal facilities and military bases. You can also use it to enter the United States from Canada, Mexico and some Caribbean countries.

The document is available only to U.S. citizens and requires an in-person visit to a D.M.V. office.

Enhanced cards have an American flag at the lower-right corner and the word “Enhanced” at the top.

Standard: You cannot use this card to board domestic flights after October, nor to enter federal facilities or enter the United States at an airport or border crossing. Applying for this document does not require an in-person visit to a D.M.V. office.

The words “Not for federal purposes” are at the top right of the card.

The process

In New York, REAL ID transactions have increased by more than 500 percent since November 2017, when the D.M.V. began issuing the licenses.

A top official at the department said it had hired 400 more employees and assigned them to offices downstate, my colleague James Barron reported.

The reaction

D.M.V. offices are rarely known for speedy service. Now, the problem appears to be getting worse, as people try to get new licenses ahead of the October deadline.