DHS Extends REAL ID Enforcement Deadline
The Department of Homeland Security has announced yet another delay for the Real ID requirement for air travelers. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is extending the REAL ID full enforcement date by 19 months, from October 1, 2021 to May 3, 2023, due to circumstances resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Past delays have been related to states not being able to comply with the new requirements for issuing the more secure driver’s licenses. But this time, officials say the pandemic which made it harder for people to get into state motor vehicle departments and get the new IDs.
“Protecting the health, safety, and security of our communities is our top priority,” said Secretary Mayorkas in the press release. “As our country continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, extending the REAL ID full enforcement deadline will give states needed time to reopen their driver’s licensing operations and ensure their residents can obtain a REAL ID-compliant license or identification card.”
Real ID cards require a more thorough check of an applicant’s identification and incorporate new security features that make them harder to counterfeit. Beginning May 3, 2023, every air traveler 18 years of age and older will need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or identification card, state-issued enhanced driver’s license, or another TSA-acceptable form of identification at airport security checkpoints for domestic air travel. The new licenses have a star on the upper right-hand corner.
All 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and four of five U.S. territories covered by the REAL ID Act and related regulations are now compliant with REAL ID security standards and are issuing REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and identification cards. However, many state licensing agencies have extended the deadline for renewing expiring licenses due to a widespread shift to appointment-only scheduling protocols during the pandemic. That has significantly limited states’ capacity to issue REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and identification cards. So as of now, only 43 percent of all state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards are currently REAL ID-compliant.
Acceptable Identification
Adult passengers 18 and over must show valid identification at the airport checkpoint in order to travel. These are the options listed om the DHS website:
- Driver’s licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (Must be a REAL ID after May 3, 2023)
- U.S. passport
- U.S. passport card
- DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
- U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
- Permanent resident card
- Border crossing card
- State-issued Enhanced Driver’s License
- Federally recognized, tribal-issued photo ID
- HSPD-12 PIV card
- Foreign government-issued passport
- Canadian provincial driver’s license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
- Transportation worker identification credential
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
- U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential
The following are not acceptable:
- Weapon permit
- Temporary driver’s license is not an acceptable form of identification
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