Flying without Real ID
 

Son lives in California and doesn’t have Real ID license. Sadly he had a May appointment but his wife suddenly had surgery and died. He missed appointment and months long wait time for appointments . His passport expired more than 2 years ago
Hes a physician in LA so has valid but non real id license, ID with photo from UCLA
Any hope of him being able to fly July 3 to visit family here in NJ?
Searched but didn’t find a thread but there most likely is one, apologies but would really appreciate answers TIA

It's definitely doable, I've seen folks get a talking to a couple weeks ago. I, personally, would plan for an extra hour upon departure (they still have ways to get through without an ID at all), and no Precheck benefits.

If he lives in LA, he can apply for a new expedited passport at the Passport agency on Wilshire near the 405 and near UCLA. Or see if he can get an appointment to replace his current license. Or get an appointment at LAX for a Global Entry card. They will tell him what he should bring in.

A friend flew from BUR right after Memorial Day. It took an extra couple of minutes to verify her identity. They also took her picture. It was just as fast flying back from OAK later in the week. She now has an appointment to get her Real ID.

I've seen very different takes on what happens without a Real ID since the "mandate" went in. Anything from nothing at all, to not being able to use Precheck, to further verification using open source data, to asking for additional data points( they wanted to see everything in the guy's wallet that had his name on it.)

It is possible. Take every form of government issued ID, like the DL, but other forms that corroborate it. He should get to the airport extra early, and even more because it is a holiday. If he does not yet have a ticket, I would suggest not flying from LAX but choosing an airport like BUR or LGB, SNA, ONT--even if that means a connection, he will likely have a simpler and faster experience at a smaller airport. He (and you) should also look up the information on the TSA site if possible. And have him make appts for a passport and a REAL ID and print copies. It could help that he shows due diligence? It is the officer's discretion, but they simply deem him safe to fly and so far people are allowed.

Also, I am very sorry for his--and your--loss. How sad. No wonder that was not his first priority afterwards.

Take the California Medical license too. It may help sway the interviewer.

I have been told the opposite, smaller airports are being more strict. Larger airports are getting a ton of people without REAL ID and don't have enough officers to handle them, so the extra screening is minimal.

Essentially, the policy right now is "soft" enforcement. This means that if you don't have REAL ID, you are given a written warning (i.e., they hand you a pamphlet) and then you "may" get additional screening such as a hand swab, depending on the availability of officers.

Yes, I am sure it depends. I was watching a smaller airport rolling this out (and know several GAs there too) and they are handing out slips to get a REAL ID, but due to the size and ease, it was much simpler. Logistics make it so. Having flown in or out of all the airports I cited, I would not ever take my chances on LAX for anything I was not prepared for with SOP. So you may have been told right or not, I can't say, not knowing your source. Going off experience with all the LA metro airports, and then seeing the rollout and asking the GAs there (I often stop to chat if it is a down time, and I do a lot of overnights to and from DFW when I am in the States), that was my somewhat informed experience.
That said, yes, there is a bit of leeway, but again, would anyone want to do LAX when BUR was an option? Maybe some would because of lounges, but it sounds as if OP's son mostly wants to get home and see his family after a year no one should have to experience.

OP, your son might ask co-workers about recent flight experiences, TSA in general, as well. I always tried to fly to/from BUR or SNA when I could. I still do when I head that way.

In my limited experiences, it seems to be true hodgepodge. BDL wouldn't allow Pre, MKE did additional confirmations, ATW just confirmed that they were aware, as did MSP, CLT asked for more documents with a matching name.

A few comments:

You can fly without Real ID, or without any ID for that matter, if the TSA is able to verify your identity and with additional screening. Last time I had to deal with it was before Real ID though when I lost my wallet. He should arrive early and tell TSA right away that he is not realID compliant. But... It could be a pain to and take long time if they are busy or possibly not work at all.

However, he should be able to apply for license from the DMV before then and possibly get it. The CA DMV allows you to upload all you documents in advance and then go to a office and without an appointment and check in at the appointment line (at least it did when I did it) as the confirmation email instructed:
You must bring the original or certified copy of the documents below to DMV. Please print or present this email or the confirmation page at the DMV for an express experience.
When you arrive, report to the appointment line at the Start Here window.

Even better though would be to get an appointment. They are definitely available (especially if he is willing to drive a bit) but the DMV website sucks and makes it super hard to do a broad search to find them. You can use this site to look for appointments and create alerts for cancellations.

https://dmvfilter.com

Though it will need to be right away as it will take 10 days or so to get the new license in the mail.