Real ID Act

The Real ID Act of 2005 (stylized as REAL ID Act of 2005) is an Act of Congress that establishes requirements that driver licenses and identification cards issued by U.S. states and territories must satisfy to be accepted for accessing federal government facilities and nuclear power plants and for boarding airline flights in the United States. The requirements include verification of the personal information presented when applying for the identification document, security features on the document, and electronic sharing of databases between states. The act also made various modifications to U.S. immigration law regarding asylum, border security, deportation, and certain work visas. Enacted in response to the September 11 attacks, the provisions regarding identification documents were originally intended to take effect in 2008, but enforcement was repeatedly delayed due to widespread opposition and refusal by many state governments to implement them. Eventually states began to comply in 2012, and enforcement began in 2014 for certain federal facilities. After numerous extensions, by 2021 all states and territories were certified as compliant except American Samoa, which remained under review. , the final and most significant phase of the implementation, regarding identification documents accepted for boarding flights, was scheduled for May 7, 2025, after being postponed many times. In the United States, driver licenses and identification cards issued by the states and territories are widely used as a form of identification. Prior to the Real ID Act, each state and territory set its own rules regarding the issuance of such cards, including what documents must be provided to obtain one, what information was displayed on the card, and its security features. In response to the September 11 attacks, the U.S. government established the 9/11 Commission to provide recommendations to prevent future attacks. In its report, issued in July 2004, one of the commission's many recommendations was to establish federal standards for identification documents.