THE Department of Public Safety is working to resume the issuance of Real ID-compliant driver’s licenses, DPS Commissioner Clement Bermudes said in a press conference last week.
He said Real ID issuance was suspended in December 2022 because of compliance issues.
“One of the concerns was the Real ID issued in the CNMI does not work, it does not scan,” Bermudes added. “That was one of the issues brought to the vendor. We pay for the services [and] customers are expecting that what they paid for are Real ID-compliant driver’s licenses. Vendors must ensure that it works in the entire U.S. We are addressing it with a new vendor, Veridos.”
He said Veridos quoted $600,000 to restart the program and ensure that the Real ID driver’s license works.
Valid U.S. Identity Solutions was the initial DPS contractor for the issuance of the Real ID driver’s license in 2017. The contractor was bought by Veridos, a German-based company in June 2022, Variety learned.
The federal Real ID Act of 2005 establishes minimum security standards for license issuance and production, and prohibits certain federal agencies from accepting for certain purposes driver’s licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet the Act’s minimum standards.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, by May 7, 2025, U.S. travelers must be Real ID-compliant to board domestic flights and access certain federal facilities.
Asked how DPS will obtain $600,000 and meet the 2025 deadline, Bermudes said, “We…are looking at different options. We are really going to need a source of funding for this. At the same time I’m very cognizant of the financial state of the government and the Commonwealth. [But] it is one of our priorities, [and] the governor assured me that this is one of the things that he wanted restarted because we want to assure our federal partners that we are doing our part, which is to ensure that people have the Real ID and they are able to travel to [the] U.S. without any issues.”
“We are also discussing it with [the rest of the] DPS leadership, and one of the suggestions is to raise the price/cost of the Real ID…. My concerns are to ensure that the Real ID driver’s license actually works, and to [assure] … Real ID holders [that] when you come and renew your driver’s license … that it’s going to work … and [that we will] hold our vendor accountable,” Bermudes said.
Variety also learned that the Bureau of Motor Vehicles’ link to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators’ Commercial Driver’s License Information System has been “turned off, and that this is one of the reasons why the CNMI-issued Real ID driver’s license does not work.
According to a source, “DPS needs to pay maintenance fees, including cloud data web hosting, to make Real ID work.”
