Pennsylvania residents will need REAL ID to board planes beginning May 7. Here’s what to know
Because of the pandemic, the enforcement date for REAL ID was postponed from 2021.
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Pennsylvania residents will need a REAL ID driver's license by May 7 to fly anywhere in the country. A star in the top-right corner identifies REAL IDs in Pennsylvania. (6abc)
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Starting May 7, Pennsylvania residents will need a REAL ID to board domestic flights, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The enforcement date for REAL ID was postponed from Oct. 1, 2021, to this May in response to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gerardo Spero, federal security director for the Transportation Security Administration in Pennsylvania and Delaware, said Monday, “The countdown is on.”
“REAL ID is a coordinated effort by the federal government to improve the reliability and accuracy of driver licenses and identification cards,” Spero said in a statement. “The improvements are intended to inhibit terrorists’ ability to evade detection by using fraudulent identification.”
A star in the top-right corner identifies REAL IDs in Pennsylvania.
Despite the deadline, Pennsylvania residents still have the option to upgrade to a REAL ID or they can stick with a standard driver’s license.
If residents don’t have REAL IDs by May 7 or their driver’s license isn’t “REAL ID compliant,” they will need another form of approved identification, such as a passport, to board flights or enter secure federal facilities or military bases.
REAL ID Days
Pennsylvania is holding a series of events across the commonwealth, including the Philadelphia area, so more people can get their REAL IDs by the May 7 deadline.
“PennDOT is committed to making it as convenient as possible for Pennsylvanians to obtain a REAL ID if they want one,” Kara Templeton, PennDOT’s deputy secretary for driver and vehicle services, said in a statement.
Templeton said the state is seeing an increase in demand. Roughly 2,400 people have received assistance so far during the REAL ID Days, according to the statement.
REAL ID Days are held on Mondays, when driver’s license centers are closed. Each of the events will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
What to bring to get a REAL ID
Multiple official documents are needed to get a REAL ID. Here’s what to bring.
If you are a lawfully present non-U.S. citizen
What you don’t need a REAL ID for
While having one can make domestic travel easier, REAL IDs in Pennsylvania are not needed to drive, vote, apply for or receive federal benefits (such as Social Security or veterans’ benefits), access federal courts, access hospitals or visit the post office.
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