NEWS
Real ID Deadline Postponed Until 2025
Source: TSA
The Department of Homeland Security has announced that the Real ID deadline has been pushed back until 2025.
The law was previously set to come into effect on May 3, 2023. However, due to the “lingering effects” of the coronavirus pandemic, Homeland Security has moved the deadline date to May 7, 2025.
DHS is extending the REAL ID full enforcement deadline until May 7, 2025.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 5, 2022
Air travelers 18+ will need a REAL ID-compliant license, or another acceptable form of identification, to pass through @TSA security when flying within the U.S. in May 2025 ➡️ https://t.co/KKoi6FEpI8 pic.twitter.com/S5Ss3e08c4
“The extension is necessary, in part, to address the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ability to obtain a REAL ID driver’s license or identification card. REAL ID progress over the past two years has been significantly hindered by state driver’s licensing agencies having to work through the backlogs created by the pandemic,” a statement from the DHS said. “Many of these agencies took various steps in response to the pandemic, including automatically extending the expiration dates of driver’s licenses and identification cards and shifting operations to appointment only.”
Once the Real ID law takes effect, travelers need to present a Real ID-compliant driver’s license or alternative form of identification to board a domestic flight.
“Security standards include incorporating anti-counterfeiting technology, preventing insider fraud, and using documentary evidence and record checks to ensure a person is who they claim to be,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. “Under the new regulations, beginning May 7, 2025, every traveler 18 years of age or 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.”
