Don't Wait To Get Real I.D. Cards

The chief of South Carolina's motor vehicles department says he's concerned not enough of the state's citizens are upgrading their driver's licenses to cards in line with federal identification requirements for boarding a plane, entering a federal building or getting onto a military base.

Department of Motor Vehicles Director Kevin Shwedo told a House committee Wednesday he fears there will be long lines next year as people scramble to get REAL ID-Act-compliant licenses.

Effective Oct. 1, 2020, South Carolina residents will need Real IDs to fly on airplanes, go into federal buildings or on military bases.

So far, DMV officials says more than 560,000 South Carolinians have gotten the IDs since they became available last year, but that's out of more than 2 million expected to get them eventually.