In six months, TSA agents will turn away travelers who do not have Real ID-complaint documentation. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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The clock is ticking on a very important date on the U.S. travel calendar. Today marks the six-month deadline for compliance with Real ID.
Beginning October 1, 2021, travelers will need Real ID-compliant identification cards to pass through TSA airport security checkpoints and board domestic flights. Real ID-compliant driver’s licenses have a star on the front of the card. Complaint IDs are intended to create a national standard and make sure every state has a more secure driver’s license.
In six months, travelers who present a driver’s license that is not Real ID compliant will not be permitted to fly. They’ll have to bring another form of acceptable ID to the airport instead or be turned away. Acceptable identification for domestic air travel will include passports, passport cards, enhanced driver’s licenses, military IDs and trusted traveler cards, such as Global Entry.
Despite the multiple alternative forms of acceptable ID, there will undoubtedly be some disruption at airport checkpoints when the October 1 deadline arrives. Only 42 percent of Americans hold passports and traditionally most U.S. residents have used to their driver’s licenses to pass through security for domestic air travel.
Travelers who want a Real ID should to get a move on. As of now, about 156 million American drivers still do not have a Real ID-compliant licenses, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Approximately 118 million of the 274 million state-issued driver’s licenses and IDs are Real ID compliant. That is only a 43% adoption rate thus far.
“The pandemic has had a significant impact on the states’ issuance of driver’s licenses since last year,” said a DHS spokesperson via email. “The national adoption rate is increasing approximately .5% a month today, as compared to over 1% a month prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
While the hard six-month deadline may make travelers’ pulses quicken, Real ID is a long time coming. It was first announced back in 2005, when Congress passed the Real ID Act on the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. U.S. airports have been posting signs explaining Real ID compliance since spring 2019, and the deadline was pushed back a whole year when the pandemic began.
Note that five states (Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington) also issue an enhanced driver’s license (EDL) as a proof of identity and U.S. citizenship. It serves not only as a Real ID-compliant driver’s license for domestic air travel but it also allows re-entry into the U.S. at land and sea borders when coming from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Instead of a star in the upper right corner, EDLs have an American flag in the lower right corner.
To upgrade your driver’s license to a Real ID-compliant one, you’ll need to visit a DMV office and you should plan ahead. Getting a Real ID or EDL requires additional paperwork, which you can find on your state’s DMV website, and the presentation of additional documentation, such as a social security card and proof of residence.
This is not always as straightforward as it may seem at first glance. If the name on your ID does not match the name on your social security or residency proofs, you must also bring in proof (such as a marriage certificate or divorce decree) documenting the name change. Long story short: Be prepared. Nobody wants to have to visit the DMV more than absolutely necessary.
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