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photocredit: gettyimages
Californians who received their driver's licenses or identification cards from the Department of Motor Vehicles during the pandemic are eligible to upgrade those cards for a REAL ID at no extra charge.
At the start of the pandemic, the DMV expanded the eligibility to renew licenses by mail or online. The department estimates around 5.7 million Californians received a new driver's license or ID that isn't a REAL ID card between March 2020 and July 2021.
To encourage people to get the required REAL ID card, the department will waive the fees paid by those customers during that time. This will last through the end of the year.