The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday that Americans over the age of 18 will have until 2025 to obtain a Real-ID license (
Real ID-compliant license
).
The DHS announcement extends the time to apply for mandatory identification to take domestic flights by two more years and was to take effect on May 7, 2023.
The extension is intended to give states "the necessary time to ensure that their residents can obtain a Real-ID license," DHS explained in a statement.
"We will use this time to implement innovations to make the process more efficient and accessible.
We will continue to ensure that the American public can travel safely
," explained the Department of Homeland Security.
Travelers exit the customs area at the international terminal at San Francisco International Airport, Monday, June 13, 2022.Bloomberg via Getty Images
The delays in issuing the document are largely due to the pandemic crisis, which is still impacting the processing offices, explained the DHS.
This is not the first time that the requirement, which was initially scheduled for 2008, has been postponed.
Other procedures within the DHS, such as the renewal of
Green Cards
, have also been impacted by the COVID-19 health crisis in 2020.
[A driver's license has changed the lives of thousands of undocumented immigrants in the United States. At least 16 states grant it]
Real ID compliant licenses were designed to be slightly more difficult to obtain than standard licenses.
Requiring one to fly is part of the Real ID Act, a measure passed in 2005 to increase national security after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
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Many states have issued it for years.
In Colorado, for example, most driver's licenses have been Real ID compliant since 2012.
To find out if you already have one, just look at your current license.
If there is a star in the right corner, your ID is Real ID compliant.