WA residents struggling to get REAL ID appointments as DOL sees record surge
The REAL ID deadline is looming and Washingtonians are scrambling to comply with the new rules.
Starting May 7, anyone traveling at an airport in the U.S. will need a form of identification that complies with a set of new federal regulations. As a result, U.S. residents who could previously travel with just a standard driver’s license or state-issued identification card now need a new identification card that meets stricter criteria.
WA REAL ID appointments filling up
Washington offers enhanced driver’s licenses and identification cards, which verify citizenship and, unlike standard licenses, are REAL ID-compliant. But Washingtonians trying to swap out their old licenses ahead of the deadline have created a shortage of appointments at the Washington State Department of Licensing.
“We are seeing an increased demand for enhanced driver licenses/IDs (Washington’s REAL ID-compliant document) ahead of the REAL ID deadline,” Thomas Charlson, a communications consultant at DOL, told McClatchy in an email.
According to Charlson, DOL recorded more enhanced license sign-ups in the past two months than it has ever had before.
“In April 2025, we issued nearly 93,000 enhanced documents, a new record for most enhanced documents issued in a month,” Charlson said. “This beat the previous record in March 2025, when we issued nearly 58,000 first-time enhanced documents.”
As a result, Washingtonians are struggling to get appointments as the deadline approaches.
“Most offices in urban areas are allowing appointments to be scheduled 45 or 60 days out,” Charlson said.
You can check for open appointments near you on the department’s website.
What if you can’t get a DOL appointment?
If you’re planning to travel soon and can’t get a DOL appointment, you still have a few options. According to Charlson, you can stop by a DOL office, even without an appointment.
“If someone can’t find an appointment and needs an enhanced license/ID soon, we still accept walk-ins,” Charlson said.
Wait times for walk-in appointments in the Puget Sound region are typically around an hour, according to Charlson.
“If people plan on walking into an office, we recommend checking our website for the estimated wait times at the office location,” Charlson said. “We suggest arriving early and expect a long wait.”
You can also bring a U.S. passport, if you have one, instead of a driver’s license. If you don’t have a passport, you can find a list of the nearest passport offices on the U.S. Department of State’s website.
If you have any of the following forms of identification, you can use them as well:
Cards from the Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST programs
U.S. Department of Defense ID
Permanent resident card
Border crossing card
Photo ID issued by a federally-recognized tribe
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card
U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential
Veteran Health Identification Card
Transportation worker identification credential