Real ID Act Will Cost States More Than $11 Billion, Says Report

September 22, 2006 2:50 PM, EDT

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ccording to a report released Friday, the Real ID Act, which would set national standards for driver’s license applicants, would cost more than $11 billion over five years to implement, the Washington Post reported.

The report, “The Real ID Act: National Impact Analysis,” estimates that states would have to spend about $8.5 billion to re-enroll 250 million holders of U.S. driver’s licenses and state identification cards, the Post said.

Costs associated with verifying applicants’ information, data storage and designing new cards would total about $2.5 billion, the Post reported.

The report was issued by the National Governor’s Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Association of Motor Vehicles, the Post said.