REAL IDs: Everything You Need to Know Before the Deadline

After a number of delays, the federal government is finally enforcing its REAL ID program starting May 7, 2025. Here’s a breakdown of what a REAL ID is, why you might need one, how to get it, and more.

1. What Is a REAL ID?
2. Why You Need a REAL ID
3. What Other Identification Will TSA Accept?
4. How to Tell If You Have a REAL ID
5. Enhanced ID vs. REAL ID
6. How to Get a REAL ID

What Is a REAL ID?

A REAL ID, in simplest terms, is a federally standardized form of identification. It can be a driver’s license or a non-driver ID.

After the 9/11 attacks, the federal government created an independent, bipartisan commission—the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, a.k.a. the 9/11 Commission—to investigate the disaster and recommend preventative measures against further attacks. At that point, the specifics of identification forms like drivers’ licenses were completely left up to the states: The federal government didn’t regulate what state IDs looked like or how they were issued. The commission felt this was a security risk. It noted in its report that the terrorists were able to carry out their plan in part because their IDs, some fraudulent, gained them access to commercial flights. So it advised the federal government to “set standards for the issuance of birth certificates and sources of identification, such as drivers licenses” [PDF]. 

This suggestion resulted in the REAL ID Act of 2005, in which the federal government laid out its own requirements for state-issued IDs [PDF]. Basically, it standardizes what information is included on IDs and how states verify applicants’ identities.

Why You Need a REAL ID

Beginning on May 7, 2025, you will need REAL ID–compliant identification to do the following:

• Board federally regulated commercial aircraft
• Access certain federal facilities and military installations
• Enter nuclear power plants

Here are a couple other things to know:

• You can still use your regular ID for most activities (driving, for example, or buying alcohol).
• Federally operated institutions that didn’t require any ID for entry before May 7 will not start requiring REAL IDs. For example, you can explore the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History without any ID. (But it’s always good to check entry requirements for museums, monuments, and other national sites before you visit.)

What Other Identification Will TSA Accept?

The most important takeaway for anyone with travel plans on the horizon is that if you present your old driver’s license to a TSA agent on or after May 7, 2025, they will not let you through security.

But there are plenty of other forms of identification that TSA will accept in place of a REAL ID. You can see the full list on the TSA website. Here are some of your options:

• U.S. passport or U.S. passport card
• Enhanced ID (more on this below)
• Permanent resident card
• Foreign government-issued passport
• Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)
• An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe, including Enhanced Tribal Cards (ETCs)

And if you do show up without an acceptable ID, don’t panic: TSA can put you through an “identity verification process” as an alternative. It will take extra time, though.

How to Tell If You Have a REAL ID

The easiest way to tell if your driver’s license or non-driver ID is a REAL ID is to look in the upper right corner. If you see one of the icons in the image above, it’s a REAL ID.

Enhanced ID vs. REAL ID

An Enhanced ID is a special kind of U.S. driver’s license or non-driver ID that lets you travel by land or sea to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean without a passport. (If you’re flying to those places, you still need a passport.) You can’t use a REAL ID to enter other countries. But since Enhanced IDs abide by the standards for REAL IDs, you can use your Enhanced ID for anything you’d use your REAL ID for—including flying within the U.S. In short, if you have an Enhanced ID, you don’t need to get a REAL ID.

Only five states offer Enhanced IDs: Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, and Washington. How can you tell if your ID is Enhanced? Look for the word enhanced and a picture of the American flag.

How to Get a REAL ID

REAL IDs are available through your state’s department of motor vehicles, and the process is similar to getting a regular driver’s license or non-driver ID. According to the Department of Homeland Security, you have to bring documents proving the following five personal identifiers:

• Full legal name
• Date of birth
• Social Security number
• Address of principal residence (two separate proofs)
• Lawful status as a U.S. resident

The exact details of the application process—including which documents can prove what, and how much a REAL ID costs—vary by state, and there may be other requirements beyond those listed above. You can find each state’s motor vehicle services website here, via USA.gov.

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