Twenty years after the Real ID Act was enacted, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration on May 7 will begin to enforce the act and its regulations, TSA reaffirmed Friday. The agency in January published the final rule on the enforcement date.
Enforcement means that on May 7, TSA will no longer accept state-issued identification that is not Real ID-compliant at TSA security checkpoints for domestic travelers. All airline passengers aged 18 years or older, including TSA PreCheck members, must present a Real ID-compliant identification or another acceptable ID, such as a passport, at TSA security checkpoints.
While implementation of the domestic air travel aspect of the Real ID Act has been delayed several times since it was passed by Congress in 2005, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on X and in media appearances said the Trump administration would honor the May 7 deadline.
Travelers who present an ID that is not Real ID-compliant and who do not have another acceptable alternative ID "can expect to face delays, additional screening and the possibility of not being permitted into the security checkpoint," according to TSA.
"The Real ID requirement bolsters safety by making fraudulent IDs harder to forge, thwarting criminals and terrorists," Adam Stahl, the TSA senior official performing the duties of the administrator, said in a statement.
About 81 percent of travelers at TSA checkpoints currently present an acceptable ID, according to TSA.
The Real ID Act established minimum security standards for state-issued drivers' licenses and identification cards that federal agencies may accept for purposes of boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft, accessing certain federal facilities and entering nuclear power plants.
Enforcement was initially set for 2008, but significant state opposition delayed the deadline to Oct. 1, 2021, then May 3, 2023, because of the Covid-19 pandemic and a reported lack of state-by-state readiness as determined by the Department of Homeland Security. By December 2022, DHS again delayed the rollout to May 7, 2025.
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