Mark Your Calendars: REAL ID Taking Flight May 7, 2025

Beginning May 7, 2025, U.S. travelers using state-issued identification, a driver’s license or identification card for U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) domestic airport security checkpoints must ensure it is REAL ID-compliant. This requirement will not apply to minor children traveling with a REAL ID-compliant companion within the U.S.

On Dec. 5, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced “[f]ollowing the enforcement deadline, federal agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration, will be prohibited from accepting driver’s licenses and identification cards that do not meet these federal standards.”

In lieu of REAL ID-compliant identification, DHS and TSA may also accept a valid passport or other TSA-approved forms of identification for U.S. travelers flying domestically, including:

• U.S. passport
• U.S. passport card
• DHS Trusted Traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
• U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
• Permanent resident card
• Border crossing card
• An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe, including Enhanced Tribal Cards (ETCs)
• HSPD-12 PIV card
• Foreign government-issued passport
• Canadian provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
• Transportation worker identification credential
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
• U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential
• Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)

Prior to May 7, 2025, U.S. travelers are encouraged to obtain a REAL ID-compliant form of identification or valid passport to ensure they are cleared for domestic travel. If you are not sure whether you are REAL ID-compliant, please be sure to check with your state’s department of motor vehicles.

• RELATED TOPICS
• US Department of Homeland Security