After two decades of delays, Americans getting ready to hop on a plane for a flight within the U.S. on Wednesday will need a Real ID. Or something like that. The launch of the program, which aims to boost security at airports across the country, kind of started at midnight with some uncertainty about how the new rule — and the lack of compliance from travelers in many states — will impact air travel. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told lawmakers on Tuesday that people without Real ID cards can still get on their flights — at least for now — but they’ll have to go through extra steps to verify their identity at airport security checkpoints. Noem informed a House Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday that if folks show up at airport security without a Real ID, “they might be sent to a different line, have an extra step, but they can still fly.” “We know this is a security thing,” she added.
The Real ID rollout has been in the works for years in the United States. Congress passed the Real ID Act back in 2005, laying out specific requirements for states to issue IDs that are more difficult to fake and require more verification of the information on the cards. The law came about after a recommendation from the 9/11 Commission to set a national standard for identification during a time when national security was a big concern for many Americans. “I think it’s gonna make airports safer because before, you could get on a plane with just a regular ol’ driver’s license, and some folks have been able to get licenses under fake names,” said Michael O’Rourke, CEO of Advanced Operational Concepts, a global security consulting firm. “This has stricter rules to prove you are who you say you are.”
But not every state was on board with this idea at first. Many state governments pushed back, mentioning higher costs, privacy worries, and the extra burden Real ID would put on certain groups, such as the homeless, to provide more documentation to get the ID. The original deadline of May 2008 got pushed back as the federal government negotiated with the states. By 2020, most states, including California, had started rolling out Real IDs. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the deadline got pushed back again. In late 2022, the Department of Homeland Security stated that state motor vehicle departments needed more time to handle the backlog of applications and set the final deadline for May 2025. Despite years of pushing the message, some folks have been hesitant to apply for the new IDs, not really sure why this matters, but they’re cautious about giving so much data to the government.
“I mean, when the government puts a policy in place from the top down, which is the federal level, and doesn’t really explain it from the bottom up, then there’s a lot of distrust,” said Faith Bradley, a teaching assistant professor at George Washington University who wrote her doctoral dissertation on the Real ID Act. Bradley suspects that many Americans will choose to travel with their passport or other acceptable forms of ID instead of getting a Real ID. Transportation Security Administration officials mentioned last month that 81% of travelers at TSA checkpoints showed acceptable ID, including a state-issued Real ID. In late April, a report from CBS News revealed that over half of the states in the country were less than 70% compliant in issuing the IDs. At that time, California had reached nearly 55% compliance. For weeks, DMV offices all over the country have been filled with people trying to get a Real ID before the deadline.
“It’s not gonna go perfectly,” Bradley said about the rollout, noting that there will probably be something officials overlooked during the process. Despite some concerns about delays from travelers, TSA officials aren’t expecting long wait times, especially for those with a Real ID, passport, or another acceptable form of ID. “Passengers with a state-issued ID that isn’t REAL ID compliant at TSA checkpoints and don’t have another acceptable alternative ID will be told they’re not compliant, might be sent to a different area, and could get more screening,” a TSA spokesperson said in a statement to The Times on Tuesday. It’s unclear when the government will start turning away travelers without a Real ID on commercial flights.
