Dumfries DMV Office To Offer 3 More Dates To Apply For REAL ID

DUMFRIES, VA — Residents who live in Dumfries or nearby areas of Prince William County will have three more chances to apply for their REAL ID at the new Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Select office in the town before a new federal law goes into effect on Oct. 1, 2020. Under the law, Virginians and residents of other states where the driver's license was deemed an inadequate form of identification will not be able to take domestic flights or enter secure federal facilities without a REAL ID or passport.

Virginia residents generally are required to apply for a REAL ID at a full-service DMV customer service center. For many Virginians, though, a full-service DMV customer service center may be an hour's drive from their homes. The new DMV Select in Dumfries has scheduled special dates for residents to apply for the REAL ID. But even these special dates may not be enough to meet demand from people in the Dumfries area.

After opening in August, the Dumfries office, located in Dumfries Town Hall at 17755 Main Street, has been operating like most DMV Selects across the state: it allows residents to make transactions involving vehicle titles and registrations, license plates, and permits and placards. It does not let residents get or renew a driver's licenses or apply for other forms of identification.

On Dec. 9, though, the Dumfries DMV Select allowed residents to apply for a REAL ID. The special date was created when officials decided to let the Dumfries DMV accept applications for REAL IDs four times before the law goes into effect on Oct. 1., 2020. Residents of Dumfries and the surrounding area in southeastern Prince William County will have three dates in 2020 to apply for a REAL ID at the Dumfries DMV Select: Feb. 10, April 20 and June 15.

The DMV Select in Dumfries, the only one in Prince William County, has taken pressure off the DMV customer service center in Woodbridge since it opened in August, Dumfries Mayor Derrick Wood said at a Dec. 9 press conference at the DMV Select office. But Wood wants officials to reconsider the decision to allow residents to apply for a REAL ID only one day per quarter at the Dumfries DMV. "This is something we might have to explore doing monthly," Wood said.

Four items are needed to acquire the REAL ID: in addition to proof of identity and legal presence, applicants must bring two proofs of residency and show an official document with their social security number. Since Oct. 1, 2018, more than 900,000 Virginia residents have received their REAL ID. The Virginia DMV predicts that 1.7 million Virginians will apply and receive a REAL ID before the Oct. 1, 2020 law takes effect.