20 years later, it looks like REAL ID may be reality

After multiple delays, new deadline for getting card is 1 year away

If you haven’t gotten your REAL ID yet, the clock is ticking. And allegedly, for real this time.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the deadline to get a REAL-ID compliant driver’s license or ID card is May 7, 2025.

The REAL ID Act was passed by Congress in 2005 in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. It requires states to issue driver’s licenses and identification cards with specific security standards. States must get specific documentation to verify the person’s identity before issuing the driver’s license, and the new cards must be made more secure against tampering or forgery.

The intention of the REAL ID Act is to verify people are in fact who they say they are. In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, it was discovered that nearly all of the hijackers who boarded the commercial planes were carrying U.S. driver’s licenses and state IDS, most of which had been obtained fraudulently, the New York Times reports.

However, there was a lot of pushback from the states on the REAL ID Act because the federal law put the burden on the states to cover the costs of the program.

Arizona went so far as to pass a bill in 2008 that blocked the state’s Motor Vehicle Division from implementing the law before eventually finding a solution, which allows people to get the ID if they want it, but not requiring every Arizonan to do so.

It was supposed to be enforced beginning in 2008, but there have been multiple delays. The REAL ID Act was passed in 2005 – 19 years ago.

The deadline has been extended several times since then, but according to the latest update from DHS, the countdown is on. If it actually goes into effect next May, 20 years will have passed since the act was initially passed – which is pretty crazy to think about.

The REAL ID will be necessary to access federal facilities, board federally regulated commercial aircraft and when entering nuclear power plants. Most Yumans probably won’t be entering a nuclear power plant any time soon. But many Yumans work in federal installations, and many travel across the country via airplane – and that means it’s a good idea to get that REAL ID squared away soon.

It’s not a complicated process, but it does require some paperwork and a visit to the DMV office.

According to the Arizona Department of Transportation, applicants need to bring “one document to establish birth or legal presence and two documents to establish residency in Arizona.” That can include your birth certificate, passport or passport card, plus two documents that would be mail-issued from a business, organization or government agency that contains the applicant’s name and physical residential address.

Make an appointment at azmvdnow.gov, and get the process underway.