Editing Real ID Cancellation

[[File:Screenshot DMV Cancellation of Real ID Email Notification.png|thumb|The email I got sent. The letter is similar.]]

A few weeks ago, I received a letter from the DMV explaining why they were going to cancel my Real ID in a few weeks. The letter explained that they incorrectly listed the expiration on my license as much later than it actually was. This isn't the first time that California has made a mistake with Real ID implementation. Many years earlier I received another letter saying that I needed to provide more proof of address.

In any case, this sounded fairly serious, and US driver's licenses have the annoying property that they're trivial to renew pre-expiration but very hard afterwards. Given that, I had to deal with this post-haste. So I waited until the week before the cancellation and called the phone number they gave me to make an appointment. Here's the timeline.

== Timeline ==

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Timeline
|-
! Date !! Event
|-
| 2026-01-13 || I was informed of the cancellation
|-
| 2026-01-14 || I finished an application for a new license and Real ID
|-
| 2026-01-27 16:50 || I called about making an appointment
|-
| 2026-01-27 16:52 || I was offered a call back and took it
|-
| 2026-01-27 17:46 || I received a call back and made my appointment for the next day
|-
| 2026-01-28 10:30 || I received an SMS from the DMV about my appointment and how to check in online
|-
| 2026-01-28 10:50 || I checked in online and received the number F236
|-
| 2026-01-28 10:50 || I cancelled my check-in
|-
| 2026-01-28 11:09 || I arrived at the DMV
|-
| 2026-01-28 11:10 || I checked-in online and received the number F468
|-
| 2026-01-28 11:13 || I found a seat to wait for my number
|-
| 2026-01-28 11:20 || I was called to a counter
|-
| 2026-01-28 11:31 || I was sent to Counter A
|-
| 2026-01-28 11:34 || I had my photo taken at Counter A
|-
| 2026-01-28 11:36 || My photo taken I was sent to Counter C where I had to wait until the people who had finished their test got their interim licenses
|-
| 2026-01-28 11:42 || Counter C accepted me
|-
| 2026-01-28 11:44 || I was given my interim license
|}

== Notes ==

* Apparently, for these cancellation of Real ID cases they have reserved many appointment slots. That's great since it was fantastic to have this dealt with.

* Clearly they had some mechanism at the DMV to deal with this too because there were people who were still waiting in their seats when I was finished who were waiting from when I'd arrived.

== Documents ==

The person I spoke to over the phone who scheduled my appointment told me about the documents I needed. In the end what I needed were:

* Cancellation Notice
* Existing RealID
* Proof of legal residence (In my case, my [[Green Card Application|Green Card]])
* The application confirmation code: A123-98X7
* My DMV appointment number: 012340123
* Proof of address (phone agent didn't tell me this)


{{#seo:|description=A California resident's journey navigating the cancellation of their Real ID, detailing the timeline of events and the process of renewing their driver's}}

[[Category:Immigration]]
[[Category:Stories]]
[[Category:Documentation]]