Real ID office now open in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville's first Real ID office is open for business and taking applications for the travel-friendly driver's licenses.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has not formally announced the opening of the building at Bowman Field not far from the Jefferson County Circuit Court Clerk's regular driver's licensing branch.

Cabinet spokeswoman Naitore Djigbenou said the office is in a "trial phase," even though she acknowledged it is processing the IDs. An official opening date hasn't been set, but it's expected "sooner rather than later," she said.

Real IDs will replace the current driver's licenses, which won't be accepted for air travel in the U.S. starting on October 1. A passport or military ID will work as well.

The soft opening at the Bowman Field office is similar to how the cabinet quietly expanded who could apply for Real IDs at its Frankfort headquarters. That office began accepting applications from all Kentuckians before it publicly announced it.

For now, Djigbenou said she advises people from Louisville to go to Frankfort if they want a Real ID.

"This ensures the equipment is operational and staff have training opportunities before opening to the public to ensure optimal customer service," she said.

"Jefferson County residents are invited to visit the Frankfort location if they would like to obtain a Real ID credential before the office officially opens. This location provides an initial presence in Jefferson County while we pursue leases through the Finance Cabinet at other locations."

Posts on Facebook Thursday were promoting the opening and indicated that friends and family of the Bowman Field office's workers had been invited to apply for Real IDs.

The office was open around 8:15 a.m. Friday morning and staffed. A person there asked a visitor if he was there to get a "travel ID" -- the Real ID-compliant credential.

The Transportation Cabinet previously has said it was looking at a location in Jefferson County in the Dixie Highway area and a centrally-located office.

The cabinet's Frankfort headquarters has been accepting applications for Real ID from people across the state. The Louisville locations would be part of a network of regional offices where Kentuckians can apply for the new licenses.

Thus far, regional sites are open in Frankfort, Bowling Green, Paducah, Madisonville and Somerset.

Sarah Jackson, the Transportation Cabinet’s Real ID project manager, said last month that three to four new offices were "on the cusp" of opening. She has said that most, “if not all,” of the first 12 to 14 offices across the state to open by late spring.

Kentucky plans to open as many as 30 offices around the state, part of a DMV-style model that would make the Transportation Cabinet responsible for all driver's licensing, not just Real ID.

The state's county circuit court clerks will continue to issue the current driver's licenses. A bill in the Kentucky General Assembly seeks to transition that power to the state.

Click here for a list of documents you need to get your REAL ID.

This story will be updated.