TSA Launches Awareness Campaign for New ID Requirements
by Jessica Montevago
Travelers will begin seeing new signs at airports nationwide in the coming weeks to remind them REAL ID-compliant licenses will be mandatory for air travel on Oct. 1, 2020. Photo: David Tran Photo / Shutterstock.com.
In 18 months, all U.S. airport checkpoints will require every traveler to present a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, or another acceptable form of identification.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is reminding travelers of the new requirement, beginning Oct. 1, 2020, through a recently launched public awareness campaign.
Anyone who cannot verify their identity will not be permitted to enter the TSA checkpoint and will not be allowed to fly.
REAL ID-compliant licenses have a star on the top of the card. Other acceptable forms of ID include U.S. military ID, a federal government PIV card, or a valid passport.
“TSA is doing everything we can to prepare our partners and the traveling public for the REAL ID deadline next year,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “The security requirements of the REAL ID Act will dramatically enhance and improve commercial aviation security.”
Travelers will begin seeing new signs at airports nationwide in the coming weeks to remind them that REAL ID-compliant licenses or other acceptable forms of ID, such as a valid passport, federal government PIV card, or U.S. military ID, will be mandatory for air travel on Oct. 1, 2020.
Passed by Congress in 2005, the REAL ID Act established minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards; and prohibits federal agencies from accepting licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet these standards for official purposes, such as at airport security checkpoints.
