THE Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles plans to resume issuing Real ID-compliant driver’s licenses by February, Assistant Chief of Police Simon Manacop said.
“According to BMV Director Eric David, all that is pending now is payment to the vendor — they’re waiting on the Department of Finance,” Manacop added when asked about an update.
“They are looking at implementing the program by the end of this month,” he said. “Other than that, they are still on track in [meeting] the deadline, which is May 2025. Corrections were made to the information provided by the vendor. Finance is supposed to make an amendment and release payment to the vendor,” he added.
Veridos North America is the vendor.
DPS suspended the Real ID issuance in December 2022 because of compliance issues.
One of the issues identified with the Real ID issued in the CNMI is that it does not function properly and cannot be scanned.
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 North America in June 2022.
The federal Real ID Act of 2005 establishes minimum security standards for license issuance and production, prohibiting certain federal agencies from accepting driver’s licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet the Act’s 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.
