If you haven't switched to a REAL ID yet, there's still time. A lot of time, in fact.
The extension for switching to a REAL ID, which will be required for flying, has been extended for 24 months, from May 3, 2023, to May 7, 2025.
The REAL ID Act of 2005 enabled new security standards for state-issued driver's licenses and identity documents for flying and the whatnot. However, nationwide adoption has been slow and the requirement to get a REAL-compliant ID has been pushed back several times.
The Department of Homeland states the need to extend the deadline-once again-in part due to the pandemic.
The extension is necessary, in part, to address the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ability to obtain a REAL ID driver's license or identification card. REAL ID progress over the past two years has been significantly hindered by state driver's licensing agencies having to work through the backlogs created by the pandemic. Many of these agencies took various steps in response to the pandemic including automatically extending the expiration dates of driver's licenses and identification cards and shifting operations to appointment only.
Read the full press release.
