Real ID Deadline Approaches: What MA Residents Need To Know

MASSACHUSETTS — The deadline for Massachusetts residents to obtain their Real ID cards is just a few weeks away. Effective May 7, residents 18 and older must show a Real ID, a passport or other federally approved identification to board domestic flights or certain federal buildings.

The anti-terrorism law requiring the “gold star ID,” as it’s sometimes called, was originally supposed to take effect in 2008 but has been delayed multiple times. Here’s what Massachusetts residents need to know about getting their Real ID Act before the May 7, 2025, deadline:

A final rule published on Jan. 13 doesn’t change the May 7 deadline but does allow for two-year phased-in enforcement. That pushes full enforcement to May 2027.

Importantly, doesn’t mean Massachusetts residents should put off getting their Real IDs.
Requirements to obtain the Real ID include: a photo identity document, however a non-photo document is accepted if the person’s full legal name and birthdate is present, Additional documentation including the date of birth, proof of the person’s social security number or proof that they are not eligible for a social security number, and documenting showing proof of residence that includes the person’s name.
Residents can make appointments at Registry of Motor Vehicle locations online. Members of AAA Northeast can also schedule appointments there.
If a large number of travelers arrive at an airport security checkpoint with noncompliant driver’s licenses for ID cards, it could clog screening lines, “potentially resulting in missed flights,” the published final rule stated.

“Additionally, long lines, confusion, and frustrated travelers at the checkpoint may greatly increase security risks both to passengers and TSA personnel by drawing the resources and attention of TSA personnel away from other passengers, including those known to pose an elevated risk,” according to the rule.

The TSA has not yet unveiled its plan for phased enforcement.
The Real ID law, passed in 2005 in response to the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, strengthens national security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards.

Real ID was originally supposed to take effect in 2008 but has been delayed for multiple reasons, including those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. States’ lack of urgency is also to blame, according to testimony at a late December 2023 Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security hearing that warned of “utter mayhem at our airports” on May 7, 2025, if the deadline is vigorously enforced.

The Department of Homeland Security estimates that only about 70 percent of state-issued identifications will be Real ID-complaint by the deadline.

TSA agents screen about 2.5 million passengers a day, and if just 1 percent of them were to present non-Real ID-compliant driver’s licenses, 25,000 passengers could be turned away in a single day. In a week, 175,000 passengers would be prohibited from flying, 750,000 would be stopped in a month and 2.25 million would be denied in three months.