Real ID deadline for air travelers extended by 2 years - CBS News

Real ID request delayed until May 2025

Real ID request delayed until May 2025 00:23

Travelers basal successful a information enactment astatine O'Hare International Airport successful Chicago, Illinois, connected November 22, 2022, up of Thanksgiving. KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Air travelers volition present person 2 much years to upgrade their licenses and different forms of recognition to beryllium Real ID-compliant. 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday the caller deadline volition beryllium May 7, 2025, allowing Americans much clip pursuing delays caused by the COVID pandemic. The aged cutoff was slated for May 3, 2023. 

Americans wishing to commercialized their licence oregon ID successful for a compliant Real ID, which has a prima awesome astatine the apical of the card, indispensable acquisition a much stringent ID cheque during application. According to DHS, information features connected Real IDs are designed to forestall counterfeiting and fraud, utilizing documentary grounds and grounds checks to corroborate travelers are who they assertion to be. The Real ID volition beryllium required by travelers 18 oregon older to committee a plane, participate a national gathering oregon a subject base. Passports, subject IDs oregon Global Entry cards besides volition suffice to walk done airdrome security.

The Real ID Act was passed successful the aftermath of the 9/11 violent attacks aft respective of the hijackers improperly obtained authorities IDs. All 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and 4 of 5 U.S. territories are covered by the REAL ID Act. 

Under the law, pursuing the enforcement deadline, national agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), volition not judge driver's licenses and recognition cards that bash not conscionable REAL ID standards. 

Over the past decade, REAL ID enforcement has repeatedly stalled aft states failed to comply with the information requirements for issuing the updated driver's licenses. But officials accidental this time, it's the COVID-19 pandemic that's astatine fault, preventing Americans from accessing authorities centrifugal conveyance departments to retrieve the updated identification. According to DHS, Real ID advancement implicit the past 2 years has been "significantly hindered" by backlogs astatine authorities driver's licensing agencies created by the pandemic.

According to a DHS official, states person superior work for expanding the REAL ID adoption rate, which presently stands astatine 52%, according to state-provided data.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said successful a connection Monday that the hold "will springiness states needed clip to guarantee their residents tin get a REAL ID-compliant licence oregon recognition card," adding, "DHS volition besides usage this clip to instrumentality innovations to marque the process much businesslike and accessible."

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• Travel
• United States Department of Homeland Security