The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would provide federal agencies with the necessary flexibility to begin enforcement of the Real ID regulations on the May 7, 2025, deadline in a manner that takes into account security, operational risk and public impact.
The Real ID Act, which was enacted following the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation, established minimum security standards for state-issued drivers’ licenses and identification cards (DL/IDs) for the purpose of boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft, accessing certain federal facilities and entering nuclear power plants.
TSA’s proposed rule seeks to ensure that federal agencies, including TSA, are well positioned to begin enforcing Real ID requirements on May 7, 2025. The proposed rule does not extend the Real ID deadline. Instead, it would allow TSA to consider a phased enforcement approach to the implementation of Real ID. Travelers without a Real ID-compliant ID or another form of acceptable ID after the May 7, 2025, deadline could face delays at airport security checkpoints.
“TSA is engaging with the public, licensing jurisdictions and states to facilitate a smooth transition to Real ID enforcement beginning May 7, 2025,” said TSA administrator David Pekoske. “Real ID provides an important security enhancement, and this rule allows us to plan for a range of scenarios to help minimize the potential impact to travelers, industry stakeholders and states during implementation.”
As of January 2024, only around 56% of DL/IDs in circulation nationally were compliant with Real ID. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) believes that because of the history of extensions related to Real ID enforcement, the public may continue to expect that additional extensions are likely and not feel urgency to obtain a Real ID. Such a pattern could delay increased adoption in many states despite best efforts to inform the public, potentially leading to last-minute surges in demand for Real IDs leading up to the deadline. DHS believes this surge could overwhelm states and result in backlogs and delays in the issuance of Real ID. In light of this, DHS anticipates that a “significant number” of individuals seeking to use their DL/ID for Real ID official purposes on and after May 7, 2025, may not have a compliant DL/ID.
The notice states that these concerns are recognized and that the proposed rule “would provide flexibility by permitting agencies to, for a period of up to two years, implement Real ID card-based enforcement using a phased approach tailored to their specific operations”. The notice also recommends that agencies should assess whether an immediate transition to full enforcement would negatively affect the public and the provision of services to the public.
Read about previous delays to the Real ID requirement and how TSA is moving forward with credential authentication technology here.