The Real ID Act was passed by Congress in 2005 as a means to provide greater protection against fraud and set baseline requirements for state issued identification cards and driver’s licenses. Most notably, the Act requires that as of October 1, 2020 “every air traveler will need a Real ID-compliant license, or another acceptable form of identification, for domestic air travel.” Different forms of identification that are acceptable for domestic airline travel can be found here: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification.
The result of the Act’s measures means that if a U.S. domestic air traveler is a resident of a state that is not compliant by October 1, 2020, then that air traveler will need to provide a form of identification other than a state identification card or driver’s license, which is most likely more burdensome to obtain.
The following states are deemed by the department of Homeland Security to be compliant with the Real ID Act. Therefore, their residents will be able to obtain a Real ID-compliant identification card and continue to use that card for domestic air travel beyond October 2020 (they have until October 2020 to possess an actual Real-ID compliant identification card if they do not do so already). Those states are:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Washington DC
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
The below list of states and territories have received extensions until October 10, 2018. As a result, the jurisdictions below have until the extension expiration date to either become Real ID-compliant or to request another extension by showing that the state has a clear and achievable plan to become compliant. If not, their residents will not be able to use state identification cards and/or drivers licenses to board domestic flights after October 10, 2018. (Note: although not confirmed, it would be expected that the federal government would provide a 90-day grace period for residents affected by their state’s noncompliance.) The list of current jurisdictions with an extension are:
- Alaska
- California
- Guam
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Dakota
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Puerto Rico
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Virgin Islands
- Virginia
- Washington
The only U.S. territory to not be compliant with the Real ID Act or to receive an extension is American Samoa. Therefore, as of February 5, 2018, residents of American Samoa can no longer use territory-issued driver’s licenses or identification cards to fly domestically.
If you are a resident of one of the states listed on the extension list, given the uncertainty of your state being granted another extension beyond October 2018 and/or ultimately becoming Real ID-compliant prior to October 2020, it may be useful to now make sure you possess a valid form of otherwise acceptable identification for domestic air travel, such as a U.S. passport.