REAL ID Deadline Is May 7, 2025, Only 17 Years Late (For REAL This Time?)

For literally my entire adult life, the US government has been saying that the REAL ID requirement for travel would be implemented imminently. However, it kept getting pushed back. We’re now just under a month from the implementation date, and the government insists it’s really, actually, finally, truly, happening, this time around.

REAL ID enforcement starts May 7, 2025

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) insists that REAL ID enforcement will begin as of May 7, 2025. Once this policy is implemented, federal agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), will be prohibited from accepting driver’s licenses and identification cards that do not meet these federal standards.

REAL ID is intended to establish minimum security standards, including incorporating anti-counterfeiting technology, preventing insider fraud, and using documentary evidence and record checks to ensure a person is who they claim to be.

All 50 US states, the District of Columbia, and five US territories covered by the REAL ID Act, are issuing REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and identification cards. However, the TSA claims that currently REAL ID compliance at security checkpoints is 81%, meaning that’s the percentage of people showing up with a REAL ID or their passport.

So 19% of travelers aren’t using REAL IDs?! What am I missing here? Is this primarily accounting for foreign visitors, who are using passports that might not be REAL ID complaint? Because surely 19% of the US traveling public isn’t without a REAL ID option, no?

The TSA claims that there’s going to be a phased approach to enforcement, so come May 7, those who don’t have a REAL ID may still be able to travel, but will experience travel delays.

If you’re not sure if your ID is a REAL ID, you can identify a REAL ID by the star on the top right corner. You can obtain a REAL ID by going to the DMV, and you’ll need to bring a valid ID, passport, or birthday certificate, proof of your social security number, proof of your date of birth, and two items that show residence.

Why was the REAL ID deadline extended so often?

For context, the REAL ID Act was passed by Congress in 2005, following a 9/11 Commission recommendation. The REAL ID requirements were initially supposed to be implemented as of 2008. The initial delays were because many state governments refused to enact these requirements. States started consistently becoming compliant in 2012, and enforcement began in 2014 for certain federal facilities.

However, we then saw several more delays, and ultimately the pandemic delayed implementation several additional years, due to the pandemic, and the backlog that created for state driver’s licensing agencies. Most recently, the deadline was extended by two years, from May 2023 to May 2025.

It’s kind of unbelievable to think how often this has now been delayed. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, this requirement was supposed to be implemented when I was 18 years old, and I’m now nearly twice that age. If nothing else, think of how much money has been spent on airport signage related to upcoming REAL ID deadlines.

Bottom line

The REAL ID deadline is expected to be implemented as of May 7, 2025, two decades after the REAL ID Act was first passed, and 17 years after it was supposed to be implemented. Apparently only 81% of people are passing through checkpoints with REAL ID compliant IDs.

Honestly, it’s going to almost be confusing to pass through a US airport and not see the REAL ID signage, since it has been around for as long as I can remember.

Can you believe the REAL ID requirement is finally being implemented?!