The deadline to obtain a Real ID to use as identification to travel in U.S. airports has been effectively extended — again.
The Department of Homeland Security proposed pushing back the hard deadline into 2027, citing a low percentage of people who have a Real ID. It will someday be required to fly if one wishes to use a driver’s license or state ID as a form of identification at the airport, but the deadline has been repeatedly pushed back for almost two decades.
DHS and Transportation Security Administration officials said they are ready to begin enforcing the Real ID requirement on May 7, 2025, the current deadline, but they are considering a phased approach to implementing it to reduce complications and confusion at the airport.
“REAL ID enforcement begins on May 7, 2025,” a TSA spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “On that date, every air traveler 18 years of age and older must have a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, state-issued enhanced driver’s license, or another acceptable form of ID to fly within the United States. The list of acceptable IDs is available on TSA.gov.”
The deadline for requiring a Real ID to fly has not changed, the spokesperson said. Anyone who does not have a compliant ID after May 7, 2025, “should be prepared to experience travel delays at airport security checkpoints.”
Some agencies may also begin enforcing Real IDs in full as early as next year, with others opting for a phased-in approach.
According to the TSA and the DHS, only 56% of licenses are compliant with Real ID.
Congress first enacted Real ID in 2005 in response to the Sept. 11 attacks, with a deadline set for 2008. It has been delayed ever since, which the TSA and the DHS noted in their soft deadline suggestion.
“Because of the history of extensions related to REAL ID enforcement, DHS believes that the public may continue to expect that additional extensions are likely and not feel urgency to obtain a REAL ID,” a notice reads. “DHS believes this pattern is likely to delay increased adoption in many states despite best efforts to inform the public, potentially leading to last-minute surges in demand for REAL IDs leading up to the deadline.”
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“Federal agencies would still be required to commence REAL ID card-based enforcement on May 7, 2025, this proposed rule would provide agencies, for a period of up to 2 years, flexibility to determine that a phased approach to card-based enforcement is appropriate after considering relevant factors including security, operational feasibility, and impact to the public offered by their agency,” it continues.
The proposed rule would also “require agencies to coordinate their plans with DHS, make the plans publicly available, and achieve full enforcement by May 5, 2027.”
