Real ID caused real trouble

Same thing could have happened if you had renewed your regular (non-Real ID) license and only had a paper copy.

Also, I doubt whether a paper license, even if it said "Real ID", would have gotten you on an airplane, either. Photo ID needed. I just plan to carry my passport for all plane trips, domestic or foreign.
Glad you had a Plan B!

Oh dear, glad it worked out. I'm scheduled to get my Real ID.... in between trips. I travel often domestically as well and am quite sure I would forget the passport!

I find myself wondering if an IDP (International Driver's Permit) would have allowed you to rent the car.

(Nice title for the thread, by the way)

I think the warning is not about Real ID, but that a rental company will not rent to someone with only a photocopy of their drivers license. That is standard.

And I think the warning should be that one needs a REAL license not just a paper copy - unless in the US where the state registry can be quickly computer checked, such as by a statie in another state who has pulled you over. As my state issues a piece of paper that says it is good for 15 days or so while the new permit is mailed and photo taken.

There is nothing wrong with real ID, used mine overseas this summer on a rental car. The problem here is no actual license. Anyone can put together a paper copy these days.

And THIS is why I have postponed getting a new license removing the corrective lenses restriction, as I got LASIK a week ago and leave for vacation tomorrow. Here in MN getting the new, actual license in the mail takes ages.

I feel like it's unlikely anyone will challenge me on the corrective lenses, as contacts are so ubiquitous these days, but I'm tossing in my post-surgery certificate from the surgeon to be on the safe side.

As an aside, I won't be upgrading to REAL ID for my license until it's mandatory. I don't feel like paying the extra money when both my passport and Global Entry card comply already.

I am glad it all worked out for you! That is a good warning for people who don’t often rent cars internationally.

An IDP may have helped, or at least it has for a poster on here that had the expired plastic DL, a Paper Renewal, and an IDP. But then it may have just been that agent that understood what was going on, another agent may have rejected.

My drivers license expires next month, so last month I renewed it and got the Real ID. It didn't cost any more than a regular renewal and I received it in the mail just one week later. They did give me a paper temporary drivers license, but I still had my other license that has not yet expired. To the OP - were you required to relinquish you regular drivers license in order to get the Real ID? If not, I'm not sure why you didn't take a real license with you.

The paper copy mentioned is NOT a photocopy. It is the receipt you are given by most driver license issuing agencies in the US when you apply for a new or replacement license. It is acceptable, usually with the previous license, to show when you are stopped by the police since they can check to see if it is valid. The paper copy on its own is not valid for anything and you normally are required to show it with the previously valid license (that has been clipped or punched to show that it by itself is also not valid) for other ID purposes.

I have never lived anywhere that the final laminated picture license was issued immediately by the license agency. I have always had to wait weeks for it to arrive.

In Pennsylvania, you send in your completed renewal card with the fee, a photo card is returned to you in the mail, you go to the nearest drivers license center, they take you picture with the card, and you walk out with your actual new plastic license (they also invalidate your prior license at the that point). Same if you ask for Real ID, which can be done in advance of your renewal, which then gets extended. You can also process your renewal online when it is due, pay the fee, and they send you the card, and you get your photo. And a receipt can be printed out that is valid for a couple weeks to show that this is in process. But while such a receipt can be checked against the records easily here, there is no reason for a foreign country to recognize it.

Getting a Rel ID version of your license is not a requirement, nor is even having a drivers' license, as one can get a Real ID state-ID. A Real ID license is required if you want to use that license to get you on an airplane or into various federal buildings, and this is a federal requirement, not a state requirement (which is apparently why some states have resisted doing this). If you do not have Real ID you will still be able to still fly in the US and enter federal buildings, but your passport will be needed.

I live in Nashville, Tennessee and got the Real ID version a few months ago. I was given my old plastic license back with a small hole punched in the top, along with my paper version of the renewed license. Then very quickly the new one arrived in the mail. I am GUESSING that if you had taken along your old license with the hole punched in the very top, you likely would not have had a problem renting the car on your own.

But, nonetheless, the warning you post is very, very helpful.

On a separate (but somewhat related topic), ALWAYS be careful to take along any old (past expiration date) credit cards that may have been reissued that you used to make the original booking for cars/flights, whatever.. If you book flights to certain countries (like Morocco), Delta REQUIRED that we have that original credit card in order to prove we were the ones that purchased the tickets.........did not matter that we had our passports, Global Entry, or a note from God (kidding on that last one)........we HAD TO HAVE that original credit card. And, what is so funny, it was only after I talked with a supervisor about another issue was I warned about it. The option (which we did) was to drive to the airport a few months before our flight to get it recorded that we presented the cards, so no problems later (we did that on July 4th that year figuring the airport would not be busy in the middle of the day on a holiday itself). BUT (MAJOR BUT), I am soooooo glad I stuck that expired credit card with my passport, because about 7 months later, there was no record in Delta's system of our having presented the card months earlier, and we were told that had I not brought it, we sure would have been denied boarding. I was super cautious, because I was told that even the highest level Platinum frequent fliers, etc. have had to be turned down for boarding for the same reason. Jeez....who would have guessed. They mentioned at least one other country that had the same issue, but I do not remember which one (as I did not plan to travel there).

Again, thanks for the warning...you likely made life easier for a future traveler or two or three.

Maggie - that's interesting that Delta required you to physically have the credit card you used to pay for your flight with you when you got to the airport. I generally fly United or Southwest, and I have never once had to produce a credit card.

When I applied for my Real ID last month the DMV clerk looked at my drivers license and handed it back to me. No hole, clipped corner or any other sign it is no longer valid. It expires next month.

Andrea, it is only because of WHERE we were flying, and I have no idea if the other major/minor airlines would have the same policy at Morocco. And, it even gets a bit weirder, because our tickets into and out of Morocco were not on Delta. We were flying into Spain, then after a vehicle journey of several nights, catching a Royal Moroc plane (which Delta first ticketed as part of the reservation, then called us back and said they needed to undo that and that we needed to ticket it separately directly with that airline (which is how I got talking with the supervisor that I mentioned in my previous post.) This would have been approximately 6 years ago. I was told it was because of the large amount of credit card fraud that had taken place with airline tickets to that destination. Since the trip was so far off at the time (many months), I even offered that it would be obvious that the transaction would have cleared without problem.....but still required. But, still, for known flyers and known long-time Delta customers, it seemed extreme, but also realized it may be to avoid discrimination among the traveling population at large. Or maybe there is a cell of individuals that have high mileage points, yet send people back/forth on tickets they pay for for evil reasons with fake passports........who knows? I likely will never hear the real why. It was just sort of a shocker for me. I really have no idea, but was just so darn glad I held on to that (otherwise) worthless card that normally I would have cut into about 6,000 (okay not really THAT many) pieces before discarding.

I am waiting until my driver's license renewal is due before going for my REAL ID. I have read that in some states you don't have to pay extra, but from what I can tell from my state's website, early renewal for any cause is an extra charge. I'll just have to keep my passport valid until then.

So you were trying to rent a car with a temporary license which was printed on paper and looked like a photocopy, correct? You did not have your permanent Read ID license, correct? So the rental car agency refused to accept a paper, temporary license. They didn’t refuse a Real ID license. Of course they would have an issue with this - why would you think otherwise? I got my license this summer and received a temporary license printed out on a full sheet of paper. Was it a valid, temporary license? Yes. Would I have ever tried to use that paper to rent a car in another country? Nope.

Your post is misleading.

Your paper license caused problems. The Real ID did not cause problems.

Anyway, a Real ID is not required to fly on an airplane. You can always use a normal license combined with a passport. Again, you are not accurate.

Agree with Kim and Emily. Been in France for over a month, rented a car 3 times - had to show my valid, plastic, not expired DL. They scrutinized it at Avis, Hertz and Europcar.

And btw, we were in a bad accident, our car totaled, other driver’s fault - many police from different agencies (in Provence) came out to the scene - i had to show my passport and valid DL, not one of them ever asked for an International Driver’s License.

Susan - I don’t think the IDP is required in France for US drivers.

OP, dont be put off. Subtle humor (your title) is hard to get across in a forum like this.

Emily, yes, i found out that it isn’t required in France. There’s just been so many posts on this forum for years saying you have to have an IDP to drive in Europe.

stan, it wasn’t the Real ID that was the problem.

@Susan, yes of course, I got that right away. But some posters keep pointing out that the title was misleading, when the OP was just trying to make the title clever: Real - real

@stan... Glad I'm not the only one who saw it that way.

have never lived anywhere that the final laminated picture license was issued immediately by the license agency.

Interesting— I have never lived anywhere that I have not immediately received my laminated license on the spot (three states; I have had driver’s licenses for more than 30 years now). Just shows how different things are in different places.

In California it takes weeks to get a real DL. It’s mailed to you. Interesting that in some states it’s immediate, i never knew that was possible.