WASHINGTON, D.C. – Check your driver’s license before you head to the airport. Starting on May 7th, travelers with a Real ID or other acceptable forms of identification will be allowed to board domestic flights and access certain federal facilities.
“Anyone who comes to the travel document checker to get into the secure area of the airport has to present a Real ID or some form of acceptable ID,” said TSA spokesperson Daniel Velez. “If you’re not sure whether you have a Real ID, just look in the upper right-hand corner of your current driver’s license. If you have a star in the upper right-hand corner, you are Real ID compliant.”
This push for Real ID is not new. It was enacted by congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2005. The changes were made to establish minimum security standards for state-issued ID cards and driver’s licenses, aiming to enhance security after the September 11th attacks.
To see the list of other forms of acceptable I cards, you can visit TSA’s website. If you’re not compliant before the deadline, it could cause some headaches in your travel plans.
“If you do not have a Real ID on May 7th or any acceptable form, what we’re gonna have to do is pull you off to the side and your travel is going to be delayed,” said Velez. “We’re going to have to ask you a series of questions. We’re gonna have an identity verification process, which is something we’re doing currently with people who come to the travel document checker without an ID. So, if you don’t have a Real ID, your travels will be delayed. You should get your real ID as soon as possible before you travel again or start using your US passport domestically. We are suggesting to folks that if you do not have a real ID or an acceptable form of ID on or after May 7th, you get to the airport much earlier than you have been. We suggest three hours prior to your takeoff time.”
And for some travelers like these two, they’re extra cautious.
“We usually have our passport and our real ID,” said Kagney and Kennedy King, who were traveling through DCA. “Just to make sure.”
