The Transportation Security Administration will have the authority to begin requiring Real IDs at airport checkpoints beginning May 7. However, the TSA is likely to take a phased approach to enforcing the regulation, a step that is allowed under a final rule published in the Federal Register.
The rule sets a firm deadline for full enforcement of Real ID requirements for aircraft boarding by May 5, 2027. The IDs also will be required for entry to federal buildings and military bases as soon as May 7 and not later than the May 2027 deadline.
"The phased approach would give us the flexibilities that we need to allow people to get aboard flights even though they may not have a Real ID quite yet," TSA spokesman Carter Langston said.
Langston emphasized that there is not yet a plan for implementing a phased enforcement, but that the TSA will have one before May 7.
The publication of a Real ID rule marks a major step in a 20-year push by the federal government for all state-issued IDs to meet minimum security standards. As of January 2024, approximately 56% of state IDs in circulation nationally were Real ID-compliant, according to TSA.
Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005, but implementation has been repeatedly delayed.
"I urge those who use a driver's license or state-issued identity card as their primary form of identification to access federal facilities or board commercial passenger aircraft to ensure these credentials are Real ID-compliant," TSA administrator David Pekoske said in a statement. "We are committed to engaging with the public, licensing jurisdictions and states to facilitate a smooth transition to Real ID enforcement."
Although the TSA is committed to a phased enforcement, Langston warned that passengers without a Real ID could slow security lines at airports.
"We're trying to get the word out to have passengers prepare so we don't have delays at the checkpoint," he said.