The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has proposed to delay full enforcement of REAL ID for Americans until 2027, but will keep the May 2025 deadline for states to be compliant.
The REAL ID Act of 2005 – just one of the many legislative responses to the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation – established minimum security standards for driver’s licenses and identification cards (DL/ID) issued by US states and territories. Security standards include incorporating anti-counterfeiting technology, preventing insider fraud, and using documentary evidence and record checks to ensure a person is who they claim to be.
The act also prohibits federal agencies from accepting certain non-compliant forms of identification for official purposes.
Currently, beginning May 7, 2025, non-REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and state IDs will not be accepted for boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft, accessing federal government facilities, or entering nuclear power plants.
Enforcement of the law had already been pushed back several times, the last time in December 2022, when the deadline was set for May 7, 2025. Now, TSA wants to push the deadline back again, until May 7, 2027. If the new deadline goes into effect, there will be a phased enforcement of REAL ID for two years.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as of January 2024, REAL ID compliant states, territories, and the District of Columbia had issued 162 million REAL ID-compliant DL/IDs representing approximately 56 percent of the population possessing a state-issued DL/ID. Data from the states also indicates that the states have approximately 110 million noncompliant marked DL/IDs and approximately 14 million legacy licenses without the REAL ID compliant marking.
TSA published its “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” on Thursday, emphasizing, however, that the “proposed rule does not extend the REAL ID deadline.” TSA said that delaying enforcement will ensure that federal agencies “have appropriate flexibility to implement the card-based enforcement provisions of the REAL ID regulations after the May 7, 2025, enforcement deadline by explicitly permitting agencies to implement card-based enforcement in phases.”
TSA said “this rulemaking proposes that agencies may implement the card-based enforcement provisions through a phased enforcement plan if they determine it is appropriate upon consideration of relevant factors including security, operational feasibility, and public impact.”
The proposed rule would also require agencies to coordinate their plans with DHS, make the plans publicly available, and achieve full enforcement by May 5, 2027.”
“TSA is engaging with the public, licensing jurisdictions, and states to facilitate a smooth transition to REAL ID enforcement beginning May 7, 2025,” TSA administrator David Pekoske said, adding that “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.”
Even though TSA is proposing a flexible approach to enforcement, “the deadline remains,” TSA says. “TSA continues to encourage passengers to obtain their REAL ID compliant identification in advance of the deadline to avoid travel delays.”
“In order to fully realize the enhanced security provided by the REAL ID requirements, DHS is committed to beginning card-based enforcement on May 7, 2025,” TSA said. “However, as of January 2024, only approximately 56 percent of DL/IDs in circulation nationally are REAL ID-compliant.”
TSA said that “in 34 States, less than 60 percent of DL/IDs in circulation are REAL ID-compliant, and in 22 States less than 40 percent are REAL ID-compliant. Further, because of the history of extensions related to REAL ID enforcement, DHS believes that the public may continue to expect that additional extensions are likely and not feel urgency to obtain a REAL ID. DHS believes this pattern is likely to 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.”
Consequently, TSA said, “DHS believes this surge could overwhelm states and result in backlogs and delays in REAL ID issuance.”
“In light of this,” the agency added, “DHS anticipates that a significant number of individuals seeking to use their DL/ID for a REAL ID official purposes on and after May 7, 2025, may not have a compliant DL/ID. DHS recognizes that this could result in a situation where individuals are unable to present a compliant DL/ID to access a federal facility or board a federally regulated commercial aircraft on a large scale. For some agencies, this scenario may raise serious concerns related to security, agency operations, and potential impact to the public. While these concerns are especially acute in an airport security environment, DHS anticipates that other federal agencies that operate facilities visited frequently by the general public may also face similar concerns. This proposed rule recognizes these concerns and would provide flexibility by permitting agencies to, for a period of up to 2 years, implement REAL ID card-based enforcement using a phased approach tailored to their specific operations.”
TSA said that “by demonstrating that the government is preparing for and planning to begin enforcement, the proposed rule reiterates for the public that REAL ID card-based enforcement will start on May 7, 2025, and provides an opportunity for states and the public to prepare for full enforcement.”
After May 7, 2025, when agencies begin full enforcement or implement a phased enforcement plan, as appropriate, TSA said “the public will be further incentivized to obtain a REAL ID as they anticipate consequences for presenting a non-compliant DL/ID. At the same time, the proposed rule is intended to allow a transition to full enforcement that mitigates the potential negative impact to agencies and the public if full enforcement began immediately on the card-based enforcement date.”
TSA said that “given the current percentage of REAL ID-compliant DL/IDs that have been issued, the challenges many states are experiencing as they seek to increase adoption of compliant DL/ID, and the resulting concerns of federal agencies, the proposed rule would provide important flexibility to agencies to ensure a smooth transition to card-based enforcement. The proposed rule balances the increased security benefits of beginning card-based enforcement with an understanding of the significant risks that some federal agencies may experience as a result of the transition to full enforcement.”
Source: Biometric Update
Anthony Kimery is the former Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of Homeland Security Today. He managed the magazine, daily online news operations and wrote the award-winning “Kimery Report,” which covered a broad spectrum of HS-related issues, from public health preparedness to intelligence collection. He has 30-plus years of broad institutional knowledge and expertise in homeland/national security matters and issues as an editor, analyst, and consultant. He also serves as Advisory Board Member of Mississippi College’s Center for Counterterrorism Studies.
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