FL Travelers, Here's How To Meet REAL ID Requirements

FLORIDA — If you've boarded a flight at a Tampa, Orlando or Miami area airport recently, you have likely seen signs about the deadline to get a REAL ID, which will be required for domestic flights beginning in May 2025.

Adult travelers who normally show their driver's license or state ID when passing through airport security will have to get a new card to comply with the federal regulations, if they have not done so already. The REAL ID-compliant cards will have a star in the top right corner.

Homeland Security officials set May 7, 2025, as the final date for getting the gold star to board domestic flights and enter certain federal offices, after moving the deadline multiple times. The initial deadline was 2018, then extended by federal officials to October 1, 2021, then May 3, 2023, and as of now, May 2025.

Past that date, federal agencies — including the Transportation Security Administration — will no longer accept identification that does not meet the new standards. Travelers can still show a valid U.S. passport, Global Entry Card, or another federally-approved form of identification to pass through a TSA checkpoint.

Some individual states have specific requirements to get a REAL ID card.

What documents do I need to bring with me when I apply for a REAL ID compliant license or ID card? You will need to bring one of the following primary documents to establish your identity, proof of legal residence and date of birth: For a detailed list of required items, Visit our What to Bring page. For U.S. Citizens:

• Valid, unexpired U.S. passport
• Original or Certified copy of a birth certificate
• Consular Report of Birth Abroad
• Certificate of Naturalization issued by DHS
• Certificate of Citizenship
• For cases where the current name and the name on the primary identity document are different, you should also bring:
  • Court ordered name change document
  • Marriage certificate, issued by the courts and/or
  • Divorce decree, issued by the courts

• Valid, unexpired Permanent Resident Card – I-551 for Lawful Permanent Residents
• Valid Passport for non-immigrants except for asylum applicants and refugees
• Other government issued document showing your full name
• Department of Homeland Security document showing proof of lawful presence
• If your name has changed by marriage/divorce, you must have your name changed on your Citizen and Immigration Services (CIS) documents.

• Your Social Security Card or proof of your social security number.
  A list of documents that provide proof of the social security number can be found on our What to Bring page.
• Two documents that show your principal residence
  A list of these kinds of documents can be found on our What to Bring page

To get a REAL ID in Florida you head to driver’s licensing stations in the state. In general, residents seeking them need to provide documentation showing their identity, proof of legal residence and date of birth.

An in-person FLHSMV visit is required if:

• You are applying for your first driver license or ID card;
• Your current credential expires and their current driver license or ID card does not have a star in the upper corner; or
• You have legally changed your name since the last issuance (e.g., by marriage, divorce or court order).
  • The name(s) on your marriage certificate(s) or court order must show how your birth name was changed to their current name.
  • If your name has changed multiple times and the document you provide shows your current name and your birth name, your need only bring the final name change document.
  • If the final marriage certificate does not have both names, you will need to bring all documents that show how your name changed from birth name to current name.

Acceptable REAL ID documents are as follows, according to driver services:

• Valid, unexpired U.S. passport
• Original or Certified copy of a birth certificate
• Consular Report of Birth Abroad
• Certificate of Naturalization issued by DHS
• Certificate of Citizenship
• For cases where the current name and the name on the primary identity document are different, you should also bring:
  • Court ordered name change document
  • Marriage certificate, issued by the courts and/or
  • Divorce decree, issued by the courts

After May 7, 2025, federal agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration, will no longer accept identification that does not meet the new standards.

The REAL ID Act of 2005 was passed by Congress in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In addition to the stars, REAL ID cards are built with technology that makes them more difficult to forge, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Floirda residents who don’t plan to fly domestically or visit a federal office don’t need to do anything. A REAL ID isn't required to get a driver's license. Also, the TSA won’t require children under 18 to provide identification when they’re traveling with an adult companion within the United States, but the companion must have acceptable identification.

The REAL ID is not a substitute for a passport required for international travel, and it also does not affect the ability to vote or register to vote, applications for federal benefits, enter federal facilities that don’t require identification, obtain medical care, or participate in police proceedings or investigations.

Here are other forms of identification that will be accepted in lieu of a REAL ID, according to the TSA:

• U.S. passport
• U.S. passport card
• Department of Homeland Security 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
• An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe
• Personal Identity Verification Card (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
• Veteran Health Identification Card

This story includes reporting by Patch Editor Michelle Rotuno-Johnson.