SHREVEPORT, La. - If you plan to fly or go to a federal building anytime soon, make sure you have a Real ID.
Real ID goes into effect on Wednesday. The last month has been a rush of people trying to make sure they are prepared.
The best way to check if your ID is Real ID compliant is to look for a gold star in the upper right-hand corner.
"Real ID is an effort from the federal government to make state-issued driver's licenses and ID cards more accurate, reliable and secure. So we in Louisiana have been issuing Real ID licenses and ID cards since 2016," said Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles Interim Deputy Commissioner Matthew Boudreaux.
To get a Real ID, there are a few documents you need to have when going to the OMV.
"For most people, it's either a birth certificate or a passport and two proofs of residency that could be a utility bill, a bank statement, anything with your current address. That could even be your current driver's license, if that address is current and valid," said Boudreaux.
In April alone, Louisiana issued around 100,000 Real IDs.
"April was a record-setting month for us in terms of transactions over the counter in the field offices and at our privately owned business partners, the public tag agents. We almost did double what we do in a normal month. So we have seen a high volume of customers in and out of our offices. We are right around 1.2 million residents who have that license or ID card that's real ID compliant," said Boudreaux.
The Clerk of Court offices have been busy too. People have been going to get birth certificates because you have to have a real birth certificate and not just a copy of it to get a Real ID.
"Since we are seeing such an uptick just on our end at the clerk's office, that is happening all across the state. The system that we use to access the birth certificates and birth records can be clogged at times and overloaded. So what we're seeing is it could be up to 2 hours wait time if you have not had an updated birth certificate since 1983," said DeSoto Parish Clerk of Court Lisa Lobrano.
People under the age of 18 do not need a Real ID to fly when with a parent or guardian.
A passport can also be used instead of a Real ID at airports.
You can still get Real IDs after May 7.