After nearly two decades of delays and pauses, Real ID requirements for domestic flights were supposed to take effect in May 2025. Surprise, surprise: That won't happen next year after all – not fully, anyway.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) published a proposed federal rule on Thursday that could punt full enforcement of Real ID requirements until May 2027. Rather than turning away all passengers without a compliant ID from the airport starting next spring, the agency is proposing a different approach that would allow all travelers to keep flying while driving public awareness of the looming requirements – for example, by handing travelers with a non-compliant ID a slip saying their license needs to be upgraded. 

“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,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement.

 

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It's yet another delay by a different name, the latest in a comical line of extensions of a law that will turn 20 years old next year. And there's an obvious reason: With just over six months to go, nowhere near enough Americans have gotten a compliant ID to avoid mass disruptions at airports and other federal facilities where Real ID will be required.

Just 56% of IDs in circulation nationwide were Real ID compliant as of January 2024, according to TSA data. In 22 states, that number falls below 40%.

And the federal government only has itself to blame. Extension after extension and delay after delay has convinced the traveling public that Real ID requirements will be delayed again or may never take effect, removing any sense of urgency to head to the DMV and get one.

“Because of the history of extensions related to REAL ID enforcement, (the Department of Homeland Security) believes that the public may continue to expect that additional extensions are likely and not feel urgency to obtain a REAL ID,” the rule explains. “DHS believes this pattern is likely to delay increased adoption in many States despite best efforts to inform the public.”

This push to delay full implementation isn't official yet – it's proposed federal rulemaking, which can take months or even years to become the law of the land. But the TSA is also seeking public comment on “the length of the phased enforcement period,” opening the door to an extension beyond May 2027.

This not-so-new ID law was passed way back in 2005 in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks to combat terrorism and identity fraud. Real IDs come with some additional hoops to jump through when applying for or renewing a driver's license – they're marked with a gold star showing they're federally approved.

If and when it eventually takes full effect, every traveler 18 and up will need a federally compliant Real ID (or one of several alternatives like your passport or a Global Entry card) at U.S. airport security checkpoints come May 7, 2027. 

On that date, the Real ID law will be old enough to buy a beer.