TexasCHLforum.com

My wife and I both had to go in and show proof of citizenship to renew.

RoyGBiv wrote: ↑Thu Jul 25, 2019 8:42 am Just in case anyone is unclear.... If your current DL is not Real ID compliant, you have to wait until you are inside of 2 years before expiration to renew. My DL expires in mid 2022. I cannot renew until mid 2020.

See FAQ question #6 here: https://www.dps.texas.gov/DriverLicense ... lIdAct.htm (emphasis mine)

If your card expires before October 1, 2022, and you don't have a gold star in the upper right-hand corner, renew your driver license or identification card before the October 1, 2020 deadline. You are eligible to renew up to two years in advance of your card's expiration date.

I wonder what happens if I "lost" my current DL? Would they issue a non-REAL ID duplicate or would they upgrade it to REAL ID compliant?
That question is not in the FAQ. IIRC, I had to show my passport when I renewed in 2016.

But because you showed up in person last time, and you have shown proof of citizenship, you can renew online in mid 2020 and beat the deadline.

I've been reading the horror stories about wait times at DPS, and I saw the Lieber article. I don't have a RealID and my DL renews this year, so I tried the "get in line online" DPS webpage this morning. I was given a "serve time" and told to show up 10 minutes early (at Waco DPS). I checked in 20 minutes early and was given a number ticket. My number was called 15 minutes after my "serve time", and my renewal transaction took about 7 minutes. I did have to have my passport to verify citizenship (DPS lists acceptable documents, and you must provide proof for the RealID).

Total time in and out the door was just under 45 minutes.

The only quirky thing I'll note is that I received a reminder text 30 minutes before my "serve time". Well, what do they think you're doing at that time? You're driving to the DL office ... and they want you to read a text?