Beginning October 1, 2021, your South Carolina driver's license or identification card must have a gold star to show it's a REAL ID in order to use it as your identification to board a domestic, commercial flight, enter a secure federal building, or visit a military installation.

The original deadline of October 1, 2020, was delayed for 12 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to obtain a “REAL ID” from SCDMV, you must present several documents to prove:

your identity,
your Social Security Number,
your current physical address, and
any legal name changes.

Proof of identity requires either a birth certificate or a passport.

Of course, you must submit a copy of your birth certificate in order to obtain a passport. Therefore, if you do not already have a passport, then you should obtain a copy of your birth certificate before applying for a “REAL ID.”

If you were born in South Carolina, then you can obtain a copy of your birth certificate from your local DHEC office. However, some of our clients have encountered one of the following problems with their birth certificate:

Vital Records can find no recorded birth certificate or
the recorded birth certificate contains errors (e.g., misspellings, incorrect date of birth, etc.)

If you encounter one of these problems, then you will most likely need to obtain a court order either establishing a delayed birth certificate or correcting errors in a birth certificate. Although an administrative process exists to correct minor errors, most people cannot satisfy SCDHEC’s stringent requirements.

If you require assistance with these issues, then contact Ingram Law Firm to schedule a free consultation to discuss your options.