People flock to DMVs ahead of Real ID deadline

CHARLOTTE — The deadline to get a Real ID is less than a month away.

Starting May 7, you’ll need one to get onto airplanes, into federal government buildings, and onto military bases – but it’ll be a fight to get into a Department of Motor Vehicles.

As of Thursday at noon, only one in North Carolina DMV had available appointments. Channel 9′s Eli Brand learned what people can do to try to beat the deadline.

PAST COVERAGE: REAL ID enforcement to start in 1 month

Long lines at the DMV are not unusual, no matter what office you go to in the state, and officials said there isn’t really much you can do to get in quickly.

“It’s about a two months’ wait,” resident Victoria Barsuk told Channel 9 on Thursday at a DMV location off of Brookshire Boulevard in west Charlotte.

When asked if she got an appointment for Thursday or if she was just waiting, she said, “No, just waiting in this line for God knows how long.”

Barsuk is just one of many people in N.C. forced to wait in long lines at the DMV. She just moved to the Carolinas from Canada.

“I’ve passed by here and saw a line every time. So, today I just gave up and decided to wait it out,” Barsuk said.

In North Carolina, in-person appointments can be scheduled online but only up to 90 days in the future.

When we checked the NCDMV website around noon on Thursday to see which offices had an opening in the next 90 days, only one DMV office in the entire state had one.

And it was in Franklin – a nearly 150 mile drive from Charlotte.

Marty Homan with the NCDMV said the Real ID deadline has people flocking to the DMV to try and get one. But it’s not just that causing long lines.

“With all the people moving here, every single one of those persons needs to come in person for their first transaction, and then you throw Real ID in. All those people that may have waited,” Homan said.

Homan added that new appointments open at midnight for the 90th day after the current date. That current time frame puts you in July.

He also said if someone cancels their appointment, it can be scooped up online on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Walk-ins are also taken at DMV offices from noon to 5 p.m., when they’re open, and 20 more locations are now open on Saturdays.

In South Carolina, walk-ins seem to be a bit easier. When we checked the SCDMV website, it said wait times in Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Lancaster, and Chester were no longer than eight minutes.

“There’s really not a choice for anyone here and every location is busy,” Barsuk said.

Officials with the NCDMV said they won’t stop issuing Real IDs on May 7. You can still get them throughout the summer and going into the holidays.

In an effort to shorten lines and wait times at offices across the state, officials also said they’re piloting the use of self-service kiosks in grocery stores. Click here for a FULL list of NCDMV Express self-service kiosk locations.

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