At last, the state Motor Vehicle Commission will allow drivers to walk into a motor vehicle agency without an appointment to get a driver’s license that meets federal Real ID standards to be used at the airport for identification.

Drivers will be allowed to walk in if it is the right time of the month and they meet other conditions. Otherwise, please make an appointment.

MVC Chief Administrator Sue Fulton announced Monday that walk-ins for Real ID licenses would be allowed on a test basis.

How do you qualify?

Walk-ins will be only allowed for license renewals, on selected dates and at participating locations. Drivers with licenses that expire in three months of the date on their license are the only ones eligible to walk-in.

Drivers also can’t walk in during the busy period at the beginning and end of the month. Walk-ins will be permitted between the fifth and 20th of the month, Fulton said.

At least you got that far...in NJ they send out tons of invitations to get the Real ID but then there are zero appointments available anywhere in the state. For months, zero appointments. — John McLaughlin (@je_mclaughlin) January 3, 2020

One reason for the change is that appointments fill up rapidly. Typically appointment dates fill up for a three-month period, based on a spot check of agencies by NJ Advance Media. Drivers should keep trying because appointments open up as agencies are added, Fulton said.

“It is clear to us that right now demand outstrips the number of available Real ID appointments," Fulton said in a statement. “That is why we are testing Real ID for eligible walk-ins during these designated days of the month, which are typically less busy than at the very beginning or end of the month."

Travelers who are flying domestically will have to use a driver’s license that meets federal Real ID security standards after Oct. 1 at airports. Passports and certain other federal ID’s can be used instead. Of the MVC’s 39 motor vehicle agencies, 32 are issuing Real ID licenses. Walk-ins are only allowed at those agencies.

MVC officials have conducted a slow, cautious roll-out of issuing Real ID licenses, by beta testing individual agencies, fixing problems before allowing them to make appointments. By doing that, New Jersey has avoided long lines at agencies and other issues experienced in other states.

For other drivers with licenses that expire outside the three month limit, they can sign up on the MVC Real ID website to be emailed when a nearby agency has appointments available. Appointments may only be made on-line.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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