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Maryland Recalls 8,000 REAL ID Driver's Licenses

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- If you're heading out on the road, double check your license before getting behind the wheel.

The Maryland MVA has recalled the driver's licenses of 8,000 residents because they failed to meet requirements to be in compliance with the Real ID Act.

Maryland officials said Thursday 8,000 drivers whose licenses have been recalled are among the first group of customers who failed to present required documentation by early July for a Real ID.

That means drivers who get pulled over by police could have their licenses confiscated.

"We encourage everybody to take care of it before they get in a situation," MVA Administrator Chrissy Nizer said.

The new license is used as a way to enhance security -- and under federal law -- all Marylanders must have a Real ID by October 2020.

Officials said the 8,000 people with recalled licenses have been contacted multiple times since December, but failed to respond.

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"I think this is a good thing and I think that we should have security on the driver's license so that we can know exactly who is driving and operating the machine," Kevin Pringle, of Baltimore, said.

So far, the State of Maryland said three drivers have had their licenses confiscated by law enforcement, but have since submitted documents to get them back.

Those documents include social security numbers, birth certificates, W-2 forms, passports and utility bills.

According to the state, more than half of Marylanders have the right documents on file, but there's at least 780,000 without the proper license.

The state sent out notices to the second group of 150,000 people in June. They have a deadline of November to get their documents on file.

"They should try probably it's going to be a lot of hassle in the long run," William Smuck, of Baltimore, said.

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