Preventing terrorists from obtaining state-issued identification documents is critical to securing America against terrorism. As the 9/11 Commission noted, "For terrorists, travel documents are as important as weapons." The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, at 384 (2004).

Secure driver's licenses and identification documents are a vital component of a holistic national security strategy. Law enforcement must be able to rely on government-issued identification documents and know that the bearer of such a document is who he or she claims to be. REAL ID is a coordinated effort by the states and the Federal Government to improve the reliability and accuracy of state-issued identification documents, which should inhibit terrorists’ ability to evade detection by using fraudulent identification.

The 9/11 Commission recommended that the Federal Government work with other layers of government to solidify the security of government-issued documents. Securing state-issued identification documents is a common-sense national security and law enforcement imperative, which also helps to combat identity fraud and illegal immigration.

Check the Status of Your State

Check the status of your state regarding REAL ID

Updates

• DHS has granted an extension to New Hampshire on Friday, October 9 and fully anticipates that it will grant extensions to Louisiana and New York as early as Tuesday, October 13.  DHS is working with Federal agencies to incorporate these changes into their REAL ID enforcement procedures as soon as practicable.
• DHS is currently in the process of determining which noncompliant states will receive extensions to comply with REAL ID standards as mandated by Congress. The REAL ID Act authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to grant extensions in cases where the state provides adequate justification for noncompliance. For the duration of that extension, Federal agencies may accept for official purposes driver’s licenses and identification cards issued by that state.  Extensions are renewable at the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security.  Extensions are not an alternative to compliance with the REAL ID Act.  They are intended to provide additional time to states to implement any unmet standards.
• States that are granted an extension until October 10, 2016 will be notified as these packages are approved.  For states whose extension expired on October 10, 2015 and have not received notice of a renewal, DHS will allow for a three-month grace period before the expiration becomes effective.  In other words, until January 2016, Federal agencies may continue to accept driver’s licenses and identification cards issued by states whose extensions have expired.  This grace period does not apply to Minnesota and American Samoa because these jurisdictions did not have an extension in 2015.
• DHS is in the process of scheduling plans for implementing REAL ID enforcement at the airports.   DHS will ensure that the traveling public has ample notice (at least, 120 days) before any changes are made that might affect their travel planning.  Until enforcement at the airports begins, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will continue to accept state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards from all states, as well other forms of acceptable identification listed on the TSA website.

Additional Information

• Map of States