• Roughly 325,000 individuals will likely be required to interchange their Actual IDs.
• The DMV will waive prices for the replacements.
• The error is because of a “legacy coding” downside from 2006.
The California Division of Motor Automobiles stated this week that roughly 325,000 Californians will likely be required to interchange their Actual ID licenses due to a software program error.
Within the coming weeks, DMV officers stated, about 1.5% of these holding Actual IDs will likely be notified that they “have to take motion” to “guarantee continued compliance with federal REAL ID laws.”
“The DMV is informing affected people of the steps they should take,” officers stated in a information launch issued Wednesday. Charges related to reissuing the IDS will likely be waived for these affected.
DMV officers stated the issue was found after a evaluation of expertise methods revealed that some authorized immigrants had been issued Actual IDs that didn’t expire concurrently their authorization to stay within the nation.
The Actual ID Act was signed into regulation in 2005 and established safety requirements for state-issued IDs for issues like boarding planes. However implementation was repeatedly delayed, and the requirement lastly went into impact in Might of 2025. DMV officers stated they found {that a} “small subset” of Actual IDs issued to lawful everlasting residents “utilized the usual credential renewal interval in some instances, as a substitute of the expiration of a REAL ID holder’s licensed keep.”
“We proactively reviewed our data, recognized a legacy system challenge from 2006, and are notifying impacted clients with clear steering on the way to preserve a sound California-issued credential,” DMV Director Steve Gordon stated. “For practically 99% of REAL ID holders, no motion is required. The DMV stays dedicated to serving all Californians and making certain REAL ID credentials meet federal requirements.”
Officers stated the issue happened due to “legacy coding from 2006.” However the launch added that each one those that had been issued Actual IDs obtained them solely after the federal system had verified their lawful presence within the nation, and that nobody who was undocumented acquired one.

