At some point in the upcoming year, residents of many states will no longer be able to use their Driver’s License as identification at the airports, even if traveling WITHIN the USA. The Department of Homeland Security will begin to enforce the 10-year-old Real ID Act, which set new regulations for sufficient identification for air travel. International travelers are accustomed to using their passports for international travel, but now, millions of Americans may be required to use their passports for domestic travel.
States in full compliance include:
- Alabama
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- Ohio
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Vermont
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
States receiving temporary extensions through October 10th, 2016 include:
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Idaho
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Montana
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Virginia
States receiving temporary extensions June 1st, 2016 include:
- New Hampshire
States under review for an extension renewal (still able to use their driver’s license until at least January 10th, 2016):
- Guam
- North Marianas
- Puerto Rico
- Virgin Islands
States not receiving an extension for 2016 and will be subject to enforcement on January 10th, 2016:
- Illinois
- Missouri
- New Mexico
- Washington
Adult passengers 18 and over must show valid identification at the airport checkpoint in order to travel.
- Driver’s licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent)
- U.S. passport or U.S. passport card
- DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
- U.S. military ID (active duty or retired military and their dependents, and DoD civilians)
- Permanent resident card
- Border crossing card
- DHS-designated enhanced driver’s license
- Airline or airport-issued ID (if issued under a TSA-approved security plan)
- Federally recognized, tribal-issued photo ID •HSPD-12 PIV card
- Foreign government-issued passport
- Canadian provincial driver’s license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
- Transportation worker identification credential
If you are looking for the easiest way to cover all your bases, a passport is going to be your best bet. The process for obtaining a passport is relatively easy and you can learn more by visiting the US Department of State’s website at http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports.html. You can usually expect to receive your passport in 4-6 weeks and if you need it sooner, you can have it expedited for a fee.
While these changes may seem like a nuisance, it’s critical for the United States to have more strict policies when it comes to air travel and passenger safety. So…if you need another 2016 New Year’s resolution, make it be to get your passport ASAP! You don’t want to miss all the fun that the world, including Disney, has waiting for you!!! And just think of all the doors this will open for you to begin to travel the world with Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney and to the international Disney Parks!
To plan your 2016 magical vacation, email me at tricia@worldofmagictravel.com. Disney is my specialty and I can help you create the most amazing adventure for your family!
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This is really important information to have. What’s annoying is California re-vamped their ID program a while ago, but chose to waste hundreds of millions on it to not comply with a minimum standard. For a state that is supposed to stay “at the leading edge”, my home state constantly falls short with these kind of things. I don’t want to think how many more hundreds of millions they will waste to get compliant. Gonna suck, they’ll have to take that out of some of their gigantic annual expenditures to replace IT gear as mandated by State Law(due to support/maintenance issues). That aside, there’s really no valid excuse for all states to not be in compliance with this program as they’ve all had sufficient notice and any licenses should have been converted over through required “renewals” quite some time ago. The real negative is that passports are kind of expensive, but are typically good for 10 years(kids are for 5 years I think), but at the same time, a lot of people not interested in non-domestic travel may be forced to pay for something they don’t really want or need. I think the bigger issue is trying to have a standardized “national ID”, which I think is really want they end goal is.
As we drive within state to Disneyland when we go, this won’t be an issue for my family. However, let’s assume we wanted to go to WDW, and we’d of course fly to get there, we’d likely run into problems. In our case, we already do have our passports.
All travelers who fly should be aware of this. Many won’t have concerns. It just means a bit more research before travel and possibly more expenses, which in some cases could cause plans to have to be cancelled due to extra costs due to requiring passports.