TSA is planning to have additional staff at security checkpoints on and after May 7 to help clear any backlog of travelers without REAL IDs.
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n May 7, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will fully implement requirements for REAL ID for passengers boarding domestic flights and accessing certain security-sensitive federal government facilities. That means air passengers 18 years of age and older will need a form of identification that complies with The REAL ID Act to pass through TSA security checkpoints.
Before 1996, airline passengers weren’t required to provide identification to check-in for a commercial flight, but the crash of TWA Flight 800 in the summer of that year spurred the federal government to increase security measures for airline flights. By year-end, passengers 18 and over had to show ID to check-in for flights.
After September 11, 2001, federal officials went a step further and restricted gate areas at the nation’s airports to ticketed passengers only, and required that passenger IDs to match the names on boarding passes before passengers could board a flight. Airport procedures were inconsistent at first, with some airports checking IDs at security checkpoints, and some checking IDs at boarding gates, but airports eventually standardized around TSA performing ID and document checks at the screening checkpoint.
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One of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission was that state-issued driver licenses and identity cards have standardized requirements, document verification, security features to prevent counterfeit, and electronic database sharing between states. The commission also recommended that states have the ability to cancel IDs once they received notification that the same person had been issued an ID in another state.
These recommendations were passed into law by Congress as part of the REAL ID Act of 2005. Implementation of the act was delayed by objections from state governments, and a number of extensions for various reasons as states began preparing to comply with the act. Now, some 20 years after the act was originally passed, and 13 years since the first states began issuing IDs compliant with the act, IDs that are not compliant will no longer be accepted at TSA checkpoints.
Which IDs are REAL IDs?
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has a website that helps consumers determine whether their IDs are REAL ID compliant. REAL ID compliant state IDs have a gold or black star either by itself or in a circle, or within a gold bear (in California). All states have been issuing new REAL ID compliant IDs since 2020, but many state residents may have older IDs that are non-compliant.
Seven states or districts have said virtually all their IDs currently in circulation are REAL IDs: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia. Another five states have said more than 90% of their IDs are REAL ID compliant: Texas, Mississippi, Hawai‘i, Utah, and Vermont. New Jersey has the lowest compliance rate, with just 17% of state IDs estimated to be compliant. TSA tells CBS News that around 81% of travelers at checkpoints currently have REAL ID compliant IDs.
How to Get a REAL ID, or Travel Without One
The DHS website provides information on how travelers without REAL ID compliant IDs can obtain one in their state. Travelers can also use another form of ID if their ID is not REAL ID compliant, such as a passport. Travelers without a REAL ID may be subject to additional identity verification at the TSA checkpoint, and are not guaranteed access to the secure area if their identity cannot be verified. Travelers without REAL ID who need additional identity verification should plan to arrive at the checkpoint at least three hours prior to the planned departure of their flight.
TSA is planning to have additional staff at security checkpoints on and after May 7 to help clear any backlog of travelers without REAL IDs.