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(CNN) -
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has again pushed back the deadline for implementing REAL ID requirements.
This is the latest pandemic-related extension for the program aimed at establishing a consistent security standard for the issuance of driver's licenses and other identification.
DHS announced Tuesday that it is extending the REAL ID effective date by 19 months, from October 1, 2021 to May 3, 2023.
Once this measure takes effect, travelers 18 years of age or older flying commercially in the United States will need to have a REAL ID-compliant driver's license or other state photo ID, which must be marked with a star at the top of the card.
Passports and other approved forms of identification will continue to be accepted.
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The department attributed the latest delay to the limited operational capacity of state agencies to issue driver's licenses, which has delayed the renewal of expired licenses.
All 50 US states, as well as the city of Washington and several US territories, meet REAL ID security standards.
Yet only 43% of U.S. identity documents currently do so, as a result of pandemic-era limitations, DHS said.
Coronavirus delays the deadline for obtaining a REAL ID in the United States
This figure is higher than the 35% of a year ago.
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Previous terms of REAL ID
DHS also said it needs time, along with several states, to implement the requirements of the REAL ID Modernization Act, such as those related to electronic filing.
In March 2020, DHS pushed back the deadline for implementing the federally mandated identification program by one year, from October 1, 2020 to October 1, 2021. Now it is delayed again.
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Even before the pandemic, it seemed unlikely that all states would meet the above deadline.
Former Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf admitted to lawmakers that there was a "slim" chance that all states could issue their citizens REAL ID by October 2020.
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The Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, said in a statement on Tuesday that the extension of the deadline for the full entry into force of the REAL ID “will give the states the time necessary to reopen their operations of issuing driver's licenses and guarantee that its residents can obtain a license or identification card in accordance with REAL ID legislation.
REAL ID
