State, Macomb County team up for license upgrade events

MOUNT CLEMENS

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The Macomb County Clerk’s and Register of Deeds Office in Mount Clemens, where two “mobile office” events will be held on upcoming Fridays for residents to upgrade their driver’s license to comply with new requirements starting May 7 to board an airplane, among other things. MACOMB DAILY FILE PHOTO

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By Jameson Cook

jcook@medianewsgroup.com

Macomb County residents who have not switched their driver’s license to a REAL ID can do so during special events on two upcoming Fridays at the county Clerk’s Office.

Clerk Anthony Forlini and the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office are partnering to stage two sign-ups from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, April 25, and Friday, May 2, at the Clerk’s Office at 120 N. Main St., Mount Clemens.

The events are being held prior to the May 7 deadline at which time people will need the enhanced identification to board an airplane. Forlini said 188,000 county residents had not switched as of a couple of weeks ago.

“Without this ID or a passport, these residents of Macomb County will not be able to board an airplane,” Forlini said in a news release. “We don’t want any of our residents to be encumbered and not be able to fly.”

Michigan residents will be required to present a REAL ID-compliant document to fly within the United States and enter certain federal facilities to comply with federal law, officials said.

“In order to make it easier to meet the REAL ID deadline, these ‘mobile offices’ will provide a ‘one stop shop’ where residents can obtain their Macomb County birth certificates or marriage licenses in order to apply for a REAL ID right on the spot,” Forlini said.

A passport, birth certificate or “qualifying immigration document such as an I-551 Permanent Resident Card or foreign passport with a U.S. visa,” can be used to prove residency, according to the Secretary of State Office.

Those who need to obtain their birth certificate can do so at the event only if they were born in Macomb County, Forlini said. Those born elsewhere, such as Wayne or Oakland counties, must obtain their birth certificate from that county if they do not have a passport of proper immigration documents.

The old license design is being phased out by January 2029, officials said. Compliant licenses with the old design have a white star in a gold or yellow circle in the upper right corner or, in the new design, a white star in a gold or yellow silhouette of Michigan, officials said. Both versions of the star are acceptable.

Enhanced licenses and IDs are automatically REAL ID-compliant, regardless of whether they display the star, according to officials.

The switch also can be made at Secretary of State offices.

For more information about the REAL ID requirements, visit the Secretary of State’s website on the topic.