Happy Friday, Service Oklahoma team!
Here’s your weekly press recap highlighting the news you need to know.
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Service Oklahoma's REAL ID Initiatives Reach More Oklahomans.
With less than three weeks until federal REAL ID enforcement begins, more TV stations and newspapers are covering our efforts to help Oklahomans get their gold-star credentials.
KJRH 2 News in Tulsa talked with travelers at Tulsa International Airport, who said they upgraded to REAL IDs when they renewed their Driver Licenses. If you want to follow suit, upgrading is easier than ever—because we are accepting after-hours appointments every Monday and Wednesday at six SOK locations. KOKI FOX23 reminded its viewers that timeslots are available from 6-8 p.m.
Next month, we'll offer even more after-hours appointments on Saturdays and during deadline week from May 5-9. Tell your friends and family to reserve their preferred time at service.ok.gov/REALID.
While getting a REAL ID is not mandatory, we are encouraging Oklahomans to apply to avoid travel interruptions come May 7, when federal enforcement begins. Recently, we learned more details about what those interruptions will look like through an announcement from the Transportation Security Administration. The TSA said travelers age 18 and older who do not present a REAL ID or another acceptable identification (such as a valid passport) at airport security checkpoints will be subject to secondary identity screening. This could lead to delays and even the possibility of being denied entry altogether.
While TV stations reported on our after-hour appointments, newspapers covered the REAL ID compliance rate in Oklahoma.
The Hugo News and The Altus Times both featured the numbers from our latest news release, which announced that as of March 31, 1.5 million gold-star credentials were still active in Oklahoma, resulting in a compliance rate of 42.5%. Since then, the percentage has increased. As of April 14, 43.2% of active credentials were REAL ID compliant.
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