REMINDER: This New Airport Security Rule Starts SOON

An important deadline is quickly approaching — have you made the switch already?

While you might think that packing for your upcoming trip is the most nightmarish situation you could subject yourself to before your travel, we’ve identified a bigger issue you could find yourself in soon if you don’t act quickly. After a recent extension, a federal expiration date is quickly approaching and if you need to make a change you’ve only got days to do it!

Deciding how you travel for your next vacation or business trip may be a challenge already but soon it will be near impossible thanks to an important change.

If you’ve been preparing or just started the beginning stages of prepping for an upcoming trip that might require a quick ride by plane, train, applying for a passport, or even driving down the road this is certainly a reminder that will pertain to you.

A federal law called the REAL ID Act is setting minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards. This law requires these IDs to be REAL ID compliant to be accepted for boarding domestic flights and accessing certain federal facilities. Most likely, if you’ve visited your local DMV or Tax Collector’s offices over the past few years, you’ve probably seen mention of this law or already had a newly printed license that complies with these guidelines.

However, even after an extension in 2023, the deadline to have a REAL ID-compliant license or another acceptable form of identification (like a passport) is expiring on May 7th, 2025.

This means that anyone who attempts to board a domestic flight after the May 7th deadline will not be accepted for boarding. The best and easiest course of action to comply is to make an appointment with your local offices before the deadline and update your current ID or driver’s license. However, this isn’t the only accepted form of verification to fly domestically. Other acceptable forms of ID for boarding flights include: a valid U.S. passport or U.S. passport card,  DHS Trusted Traveler Cards (such as Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST), U.S. Department of Defense ID, a Permanent Resident Card, Border Crossing Card, or an acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe.

This is a deadline that’s seen generous extension since the initial act was passed through congress in 2005, and since we’ve seen it extended in the past, we’re not sure that there will be room for any further extensions beyond the current deadline.

So if you’re planning on traveling soon, make sure you’ve given your IDs and documentation a quick check soon and make any necessary appointments prior to May 7th to avoid any surprises that would delay you from reaching your destination.

We’re constantly keeping up with the current travel news, updates, trends, and more. Be sure to stay tuned with us at AllEars as we bring you the latest!

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Have you already switched over to REAL ID? Tell us all about your experience in the comments below!

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