What’s Going On With REAL ID? Here's What You Need To Know

ACROSS AMERICA — The deadline to get a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license has changed so many times it’s almost a punchline for a joke. Now, the date to remember is May 7, 2025.

After that date, if things stand as they are now, Americans will no longer be able to board domestic flights or enter nuclear power plants and certain federal buildings if they don’t have a REAL ID. One exception: A valid passport works as well as a REAL ID when boarding domestic flights.

Congress passed the REAL ID Act, a recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, in 2005. It “establishes minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards, and prohibits federal agencies from accepting for official purposes licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet these standards.”

Here are some things to know about REAL ID and the new deadline:

How Do I Know If I Have A REAL ID?

A REAL ID is distinguishable from a regular driver’s license because it has a star, usually gold, but also black or white. The star or other symbol is a shorthand way of saying a person’s citizenship and legal residence status have been verified.

How Do I Get A REAL ID?

REAL ID cards are issued at driver’s licensing stations in the states. In general, those seeking them need to provide documentation showing their legal name, date of birth, Social Security number or proof of lawful status to be in the United States, and two proofs of the address of their principal residence.

To be sure, go to your state’s motor vehicle licensing department and check what is required Some states allow people to upload documents to save time on the day they show up in person to get their REAL IDs.

Why Is The Deadline So Fluid?

The Department of Homeland Security has extended the deadline for REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses multiple times, most recently in late 2022 when the agency moved the implementation date back two years to May 7, 2025.

Homeland Security officials said COVID-19 pandemic-related backlogs have slowed states’ progress in issuing REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses.

Those backlogs are greater in some states where driver’s license expiration dates were automatically extended, or by shifting operations to appointment only.

Should I Just Wait Until 2025?

With the extended deadline now about a year and a half in the future, the temptation to put off getting a REAL ID may be great. But that could mean longer lines and more competition for appointments in places that require them.

Homeland Security officials estimated that by May 2023, the REAL ID compliance deadline before the latest extension, only about 56 percent of the U.S. population over age 18 would have obtained one.