Oregon

REAL ID deadline is coming. How to get one in Oregon and why you shouldn’t delay

Published

1 year ago

November 25, 2024

REAL ID deadline is coming. How to get one in Oregon and why you shouldn’t delay

Oregonians will soon need to meet federal security standards and get a REAL ID by May 7, 2025 if they want to fly domestically.

Here’s how to get a REAL ID, why they are required and why you should make plans to get one soon.

What is a REAL ID?

A REAL ID is a state-issued driver’s license, permit or ID card that meets federal security standards, according to a press release from the Oregon Department of Transportation.

An Oregon REAL ID has a star inside a black circle on the upper right corner of the card. Renewing identification without opting for a REAL ID will show “Not for REAL ID Act” in the upper right corner.

Why will REAL IDs be required?

In 2005, Congress passed the REAL ID Act in response to the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation to improve protection and “establish minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards,” according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Can I still fly after May 7, 2025 if I don’t get a REAL ID?

No. Past the May deadline, any person 18 years or older without a REAL ID, passport, passport card or military ID won’t be able to board domestic flights.

Chris Crabb, public information officer for the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles, said 51% of Oregonians have their passport.

REAL IDs cannot be used as a passport alternative to board foreign flights, and Oregonians will still be able to legally drive, vote or prove their identity without a REAL ID.

How to get a REAL ID in Oregon?

Oregonians can get a REAL ID at any DMV office by walk-in or appointment. Applicants must bring documents that prove their identity, date of birth, social security number, two different proofs of address and lawful status in the United States.

There will be an up to 20-day wait period before the REAL ID arrives in the mail after completing the application.

How much does a REAL ID cost in Oregon?

REAL IDs cost $30 each time you apply, and that fee comes in addition to the regular costs for an original, renewal or replacement of a standard Oregon driver’s license, permit or ID card. Getting a REAL ID does not change the expiration date on your card.

An original standard driver’s license costs $64, an ID card costs $47 and a permit is $30.

Renewal of a standard driver’s license costs $54, an ID card costs $43 and a permit is $26.

Replacement of a standard driver’s license costs $30, an ID card costs $40 and a permit is $30.

Why should I make plans to get a REAL ID in Oregon ASAP?

Crabb said the DMV is expecting an influx of REAL ID seekers toward the deadline, so they’re hoping people can make the switch as soon as possible.

Since the option became available in 2020, one-third of the state’s license, instruction permit or identification card holders have opted to switch to a REAL ID — a little over a million people, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Applicants who show up two weeks before the deadline might not receive the REAL ID in time if they are traveling close to the deadline, she said. Temporary paper cards will not be accepted.

“The sooner you get it, the less you’ll probably have to wait,” Crabb said.

Alexander Banks is an AAJA-SPJ reporting intern at the Statesman Journal. Reach him at abanks@statesmanjournal.com

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Oregon

Convicted murderer sentenced to life in prison for Falls City, Oregon killing in 2024

Published

12 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Convicted murderer sentenced to life in prison for Falls City, Oregon killing in 2024

FALLS CITY, Ore. — A 63-year-old was sentenced to life in prison for shooting and killing a man with a shotgun during a fight at a Falls City, Oregon property back in 2024.

A jury convicted Terry Lawrence Allwen of second-degree murder back on March 20, the Polk County District Attorney’s Office said.

He was sentenced Friday to serve life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.

READ MORE | ‘What kind of monster does that?’ mom says as man sentenced for daughter’s killing

Allwen was also convicted of other charges like manslaughter, assault, and felon in possession of a firearm, but the sentences for those crimes will be served concurrently with the life sentence.

Court records show that Allwen was staying in an RV parked on a property owned by the victim, 79-year-old Bo Johnson.

At about 9 a.m. on May 31, 2024, Allwen and Johnson got into a verbal fight over some personal property. During that fight, Allwen got a shotgun from his trunk and shot Johnson once, killing him.

“Mr. Johnson had many more years to spend with his family. His senseless murder destroyed the dreams and plans of so many that loved him. I hope that the fact Mr. Allwen today received the maximum possible sentence will bring the family of Mr. Johnson some relief and sense of justice.”

If Allwen is granted parole, the judge also ordered that he have a lifetime of post-prison supervision.

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Oregon

Merkley Announces Additional Oregon Town Halls April 2-4

Published

24 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Merkley Announces Additional Oregon Town Halls April 2-4

Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley announced today he will hold seven in-person town halls for Oregonians in Gilliam, Sherman, Klamath, Lake, Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties between Thursday, April 2 and Saturday, April 4. These events follow previously announced town halls between Monday, March 30 and Wednesday, April 1. “I’m looking forward to again visiting wonderful communities […]

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Oregon

Oregon Supreme Court overturns JonBenét Ramsey photographer conviction

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Oregon Supreme Court overturns JonBenét Ramsey photographer conviction

The Oregon Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of a Lane County man who once photographed child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey and was convicted in 2021 on several child pornography charges.

Randall DeWitt Simons, 73, of Oakridge, was charged in 2019 with 15 counts of first-degree encouraging child sex abuse. He was later convicted on every count and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Simons was first arrested after authorities began investigating a report from a restaurant in Oakridge that someone had been using the restaurant’s Wi-Fi to download inappropriate and concerning images.

Law enforcement officers directed the business to track, log, and report all of the user’s internet activity to the investigating officer for more than a year, without a warrant.

Police tracked the computer’s IP address from the restaurant’s Wi-Fi system, which led officers to a man who lived near the restaurant and had given Simons a computer, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Lane County Circuit Court. Investigators obtained a warrant to search the laptop in Simon’s home, relying on information they had collected over time. He was subsequently arrested.

On March 26, the court ruled warrantless internet surveillance on public Wi-Fi violates privacy.

In an opinion written by Justice Bronson D. James, the court held that the Oregon Constitution recognizes people have a right to privacy in their internet browsing activities and the right is not extinguished when they use a publicly accessible wireless network. It’s even true in cases where that access is conditioned on a person accepting a terms-of-service agreement that says a provider may monitor activity and cooperate with law enforcement, James wrote.

During criminal proceedings in the Lane County Circuit Court, Simons moved to controvert the warrant and suppress the evidence obtained by police, arguing the business was a “state actor for purposes of Article I, section 9, and that its year-long warrantless surveillance was an unconstitutional, warrantless search attributable to the state,” the Supreme Court opinion said.

The Circuit Court denied Simon’s motion. The Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision in part and stated Simons had no cognizable privacy interest in his internet activities performed on a third-party network.

The Oregon Supreme Court rejected the state’s argument.

“The mere fact that a person accesses the internet through a public network does not eliminate their Article I, section 9, right to privacy in their online activities,” according to James. “Even when access is expressly conditioned on a user’s acceptance of terms-of-service provisions purporting to alert the user that the provider may monitor activity and cooperate with law enforcement.”

Justice K. Bushong suggested in a partial dissent the Court should reconsider its approach in a future case to what constitutes a “search” under the Oregon Constitution. The court’s decision reverses the Court of Appeals and sends the case back to the Lane County Circuit Court for further proceedings.

Simons has maintained his innocence since he was arrested in 2019.

Simons had been a photographer for 6-year-old Colorado beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey a few months before her still-unsolved 1996 murder, the Associated Press reported in 1998.

In October 1998, Simons was arrested on a charge of indecent exposure in Lincoln County, Colorado. According to the book “Perfect Murder, Perfect Town” by Lawrence Schiller, Simons was arrested in 1998 for allegedly walking nude down a residential street in the small town of Genoa, Colorado. Simons allegedly offered to the arresting deputy unprovoked, “I didn’t kill JonBenét.”

Haleigh Kochanski is a breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at HKochanski@gannett.com.

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