What is the REAL ID Act?

The REAL ID Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 2005, was an attempt to create nationwide minimum standards for states to issue driver’s licenses and ID cards. The law requires changes to state standards, procedures and requirements for the issuance of driver’s licenses and identification cards, if they are to be accepted as identity documents by the federal government.

The United States Department of Homeland Security (U.S. DHS) issued the final REAL ID regulations Jan. 11, 2008. Under the final REAL ID regulations, only REAL ID-compliant driver’s license and identification cards were to be accepted for official federal purposes, i.e. boarding a commercial aircraft, entering a nuclear power plant or federal facility that requires identification on or after May 11, 2008, unless states requested and were granted an initial extension by the U.S. DHS. Pennsylvania was granted an initial extension, which allowed Pennsylvania residents to continue using PA driver’s licenses and identification cards as ID for official federal purposes through Dec. 31, 2009.

PennDOT recently announced that the U.S. DHS has granted the commonwealth an extension to implement the federal REAL ID Act, which allows Pennsylvania residents to continue using PA driver’s licenses and identification cards as ID for official federal purposes, as defined above, beyond Dec. 31, 2009.

While May 10, 2011 remains the deadline for full compliance with the REAL ID Act, Pennsylvania will not consider participating in REAL ID unless the federal government fully funds REAL ID. Requesting and being granted the extension does not commit the commonwealth to comply with the REAL ID Act.