Real ID Cancellation
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
| 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)
- The application confirmation code: A123-98X7
- My DMV appointment number: 012340123
- Proof of address (phone agent didn't tell me this)
