February 8, 2016
By Paul Joseph, Paragon Communications News Director –
It looks fine, but there’s a problem with the Oklahoma Driver’s license.
It’s a problem only because Congress passed a law a few years back. That law requires the Oklahoma legislature to change the Oklahoma Law – and it hasn’t done it, yet.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s Paul Timmons says the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety has received word from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that the state of Oklahoma has been granted a one-year extension until Oct. 10, 2016 in order to meet the requirements of the REAL ID Act.
Timmons says despite what a person may hear from various media sources, DPS hasn’t been told of a specific deadline.
What this means for Oklahomans is that they will continue to be able to use their Oklahoma-issued drivers’ licenses or identification card to access military bases and most federal facilities. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will also continue to accept valid Oklahoma driver’s licenses and identification cards.
Timmons says DPS is working on getting the law changed by working in this legislative session.
But, as for the foreseeable future, a person’s current license will continue to work just fine.
Until announced otherwise, the TSA will continue to accept valid drivers’ licenses and identification cards issued by Oklahoma and all other states and that the traveling public will be notified at least 120 days in advance of any problems.
That said, there was a minor problem with a couple of the driver license agencies, but Timmons says that’s been taken care of, also.
Timmons says a list of Oklahoma FAQs is available on the DPS website at (www.dps.state.ok.us).
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