REAL ID Deadline Extended to May 3, 2025

I think many travelers correctly surmised that the REAL ID deadline was being pushed out due to COVID-19 extending many other government deadlines.

REAL ID deadline extended

Due to circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security has extended the REAL ID enforcement deadline. The new deadline for REAL ID enforcement is May 7, 2025. Read the announcement.

Beginning May 7, 2025, every air traveler 18 years of age and older will need 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.

How Will REAL ID Work?

Adults 18 and over will be required to have a REAL ID or another acceptable form of ID in order to fly in the United States. Other acceptable forms of ID are: U.S. Passport, U.S. Passport Card, Global Entry card, Permanent Resident Card and more. Check out the full list here.

It’s the law.

Passed by Congress in 2005, the REAL ID Act enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the federal government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses.” The Act and implementing regulations establish minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards and prohibit federal agencies, like TSA, from accepting licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet these standards for official purposes, such as getting through the airport security checkpoint to board a plane. Learn more about REAL ID enforcement.