Letter to the editor: REAL ID requirements daunting for seniors

By Oct. 1, 2020, Pennsylvanians will need a REAL ID-compliant license, identification card or other federally acceptable identification to board domestic commercial flights or enter military bases and federal facilities (“Here’s what you need to know about Real ID”).

First, you must prove identity with a certified, raised-seal birth certificate. If the birth certificate was issued many years ago and doesn’t have a raised seal, you must pay for one. If the name on it is one your parents provided at your birth but no one ever used, you have a problem. The name you have used for 80-plus years, which appears on countless documents, is not valid for proof of identity; Department of Motor Vehicles workers will tell you that you do not exist.

A woman who changed her names through marriage also needs to prove how she obtained the name she now uses. If you married 50 years ago and your first husband died 30 years ago, but you continued to use your first married name until you remarried, and that name appears on your present marriage certificate, you must provide both certificates.

Seniors are at a disadvantage in being able to supply all the required documentation. Documents can be lost in moving, or discarded through the years. The time, effort and cost of replacing them can be daunting.

The rationale behind REAL ID is that it will help to “protect the homeland.” It is right up there with the Transportation Security Administration requiring Grandma to remove her orthopedic shoes before being allowed to board a plane.

Joan Land Davi

Greensburg