Real ID deadline extended again to 2025
ID requirement signs at entrance to passenger TSA security area, West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by: Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Americans will have more time to get the Real ID that they will need to board a flight or enter federal facilities.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Monday an extension of the Real ID deadline until May 7, 2025. The deadline had been May 3, 2023, but needed to be extended again due to the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The initial implementation date had been Oct. 1, 2021.
Meanwhile, people are getting compliant IDs as they renew, but it takes time and the process has been slowed by the pandemic, with many state agencies operating at limited capacity.
"Many of these agencies took various steps in response to the pandemic including automatically extending the expiration dates of driver’s licenses and identification cards and shifting operations to appointment only," DHS said, which has created backlogs.
Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005 to establish minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and ID cards following a recommendation from the 9/11 Commission.
Older IDs will be suitable to allow people to drive, buy liquor or other age-regulated products, and gamble at casinos. Travelers also can use military IDs or passports to access flights and federal facilities.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.