Marking its third pandemic-related extension, the Department of Homeland Security said Monday it will push back the deadline for air passengers to use REAL ID.
The DHS said it will begin enforcing the stricter identification requirement on May 7, 2025, instead of the previously set deadline of May 3, 2023.
REAL ID documents, usually denoted by a small star, are already required to enter certain restricted federal facilities and nuclear power plants.
"DHS continues to work closely with U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories to meet REAL ID requirements," Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.
"This extension will give states needed time to ensure their residents can obtain a REAL ID-compliant license or identification card. DHS will also use this time to implement innovations to make the process more efficient and accessible. We will continue to ensure that the American public can travel safely."
The push for REAL ID-compliant identification began after Congress passed a law in 2005 that established minimum security standards for government issued identification.
The law was a response to a 9/11 Commission recommendation and it includes a number of anti-counterfeiting and anti-fraud measures.
After May 7, 2025, passengers 18 years and older will need to have REAL-ID identification to board an airplane, though they will still be able to use other approved documents, such as a valid passport or U.S. military ID.
Originally set to take effect in 2020, DHS began granting extensions as the pandemic shuttered motor vehicle agencies and other identification-issuing departments.
The latest announcement of a two-year extension is also the longest yet, as DHS first granted an extension until October 2021 and then another until May 2023.
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