More questions than answers after governor signs Real ID bill

It will be a little easier for Missouri residents to fly, and visit military bases and federal buildings after Jan. 22 because Gov. Eric Greitens signed the Real ID bill Monday.

If residents want to fly, visit military bases or federal buildings after that date, they will need to have the new federally compliant ID or a passport.

As of Tuesday, no information is available to residents about when they can start applying for the new driver’s license or ID, how much it will cost or how long it will take to receive it.

According to the Department of Homeland Security’s website, there is specific information the ID’s must have to be considered federally compliant.

The majority of required information is similar to what Missouri ID’s already include.

Here is the list of the minimum requirements:

The person’s full legal name. The person’s date of birth. The person’s gender. The person’s driver’s license or identification card number. A digital photograph of the person. The person’s address of principle residence. The person’s signature. Physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting or duplication of the document for fraudulent purposes. A common machine-readable technology, with defined minimum data elements.

The documents residents will need to apply for a Real ID are also similar to what they need for current ID’s.

If residents are planning to fly at the end of January, or even a few months after, they might want to be prepared with an alternative form of federally accepted identification.

It takes about six to eight weeks to receive a passport after an application is filed, and a passport costs about $135.