Real ID deadline delayed one year

The requirement for Americans to obtain a Real ID for travel will be delayed one year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Thursday.

Americans will now have until Oct. 1, 2021, to get Real ID Act compliant identification needed to board commercial flights, enter federal buildings or gain access to American nuclear plants.

President Trump recommended the delay earlier this week to ease crowding at Department of Motor Vehicle offices.

“The federal, state and local response to the spread of the Coronavirus here in the United States necessitates a delay in this deadline,” acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement Thursday. “Our state and local partners are working tirelessly with the Administration to flatten the curve and, therefore, we want to remove any impediments to response and recovery efforts.”

Three Democratic chairmen of relevant House committees had sent a letter to the DHS last week asking for the implementation of the Real ID Act to be delayed, citing the rapid spread of the coronavirus.

The U.S. Travel Association applauded the administration for delaying the enforcement date of REAL ID requirements, which the group said would have likely caused greater economic uncertainty, but cautioned the extension may need to be longer.

Americans will now have until Oct. 1, 2021, to get Real ID Act compliant identification, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Thursday, which will be needed to board commercial flights, enter federal buildings or gain access to American nuclear plants.

“We applaud the administration for recognizing the challenges enforcing REAL ID requirements on travelers would present to what we hope will be a full and speedy economic recovery. We believe implementing REAL ID enforcement prior to full recovery would severely delay or reverse the travel industry’s ability to recover quickly from the coronavirus crisis,” U.S. Travel CEO Roger Dow wrote in a letter to DHS Acting Secretary Wolf.

If REAL ID were implemented today, an estimated 67,400 travelers would be turned away at airport security checkpoints on the first day, and more than 471,800 within the first week, according to a new analysis compiled in part by U.S. Travel.