Tips For Securing Your Real ID At Michigan’s Secretary Of State

My Michigan driver's license expires in 2026, and I don't fly, so I didn't see the need to rush to the Secretary of State office to switch to the new Real ID by the May 7, 2025, deadline...until I found out I was flying later this month. So, before I went digging through files to find the papers needed, I first went straight to my laptop.

RELATED: Michigan SOS Revives Iconic '70s and '80s License Plates

I wasn't logging on to renew because Michigan isn't allowing online conversion to the Real ID, so I was logging on to make an appointment.

The Michigan Secretary of State is Appointment Only

I scheduled my appointment for 11:10 a.m. on Tuesday, thinking this would be a relatively slow time. It wasn't.

The 11:10 group (I wasn't the only one with an 11:10 appointment) was called up at 11:40.

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While waiting to be called from the waiting area to wait in line (separate areas), I posted up within earshot of the check-in counter at the Secretary of State's office in Lansing. While most fellow SOS attendees had an appointment that morning, I noticed an alarming pattern.

Seniors Unaware

Nearly every solo senior citizen, as they've become accustomed to their entire lives, came to the Secretary of State office expecting to pull a number, sit in a chair, and wait up to a couple of hours to be summoned to the next available representative. Not anymore.

RELATED: Since When is Michigan’s Secretary of State Appointment Only?

I give the crew at the SOS in Lansing credit. They explained very kindly that they are now appointment only and, believe it or not, have been since before COVID. I know that because I was told last year by the Mason SOS office when I showed up on my birthday to renew my tags.

So, before you panic-drive to the nearest Secretary of State, thinking they still offer the same "meat counter" ticket number system, STOP. Go to Michigan.gov/SOS and make an appointment, and maybe help the seniors in your life make one too. Based on what I saw on a Tuesday, they will be booked out for a while.