FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Becky Pierson
Email: bpierson@dps.ms.gov
JACKSON, MS – the Mississippi Department of Public Safety’s Driver Service Bureau (DSB) announces a new statewide campaign today called “Check for the Star” REAL ID on state issued driver licenses and identification cards to help raise awareness on new federal requirements for flying commercially in the United States, accessing military bases and entering secure federal facilities. These new guidelines go into effect on October 1, 2020.
REAL ID is a secure form of identification that meets federal security standards for state issued driver licenses, driver license permits and identification cards. REAL ID is indicated by a gold star in the upper right-hand corner of a driver’s license, driver’s permit or identification card.
You do NOT need a REAL ID to do the following: drive, vote, access hospitals, visit the post office, bank transactions, or to apply for or receive federal benefits such as social security or veterans’ benefits.
Some Mississippi residents already have a gold star on their driver’s license and or identification cards. The Driver Service Bureau began implementation of the new REAL ID licenses in 2018. In order to obtain a REAL ID gold star license, visit any Mississippi driver license station to purchase a duplicate or renewal driver’s license or identification card. You can also go online at www.driverservicebureau.dps.ms.gov to purchase one.
The new Wait Anywhere online same day appointment scheduling is available for faster service of purchasing a renewal driver license and or identification card in six driver license stations across the state: Nesbit, Tupelo, Jackson, Pearl, Hattiesburg and Gautier. Visit www.driverservicebureau.dps.ms.gov/wait-anywhere for more information.
Mississippi firearm permits will not have a gold star. Firearm permits are not used for official state identification purposes.
TSA does not require children under the age of 18 to provide identification when traveling within the United States. Contact the airline for questions regarding specific ID requirements for travelers under the age of 18.
You can visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s website at www.dhs.gov/real-id or the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) website at www.tsa.gov/real-id for additional information on REAL ID.