What You Need to Know About Real ID and Travel

Enforcement began May 7, 2025. Travelers need the upgraded driver’s licenses for security screening

Most states mark Real ID cards with a gold or black star in the top right corner of the driver’s license. As of May 7, 2025, travelers can no longer use a regular driver’s license to board a domestic flight.

Associated Press

Christina Ianzito and Ken Budd,

Updated May 19, 2025

AARP

En español

Published September 16, 2021

/ Updated May 19, 2025

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began enforcing the Real ID law on May 7, 2025. A regular driver’s license can no longer be used to board a domestic flight.

Conceived in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Real ID law requires people to show security-enhanced IDs to pass through airport security checkpoints or to enter certain federal facilities, such as military bases. This requirement led to the Real ID, which is an enhanced driver’s license or state ID card. Sometimes called the Star Card, because most states mark Real ID cards with a gold or black star in the top right corner, it must include an encoded “machine readable zone,” like a passport’s, with a person’s scannable information.

Travelers also will be able to use passports, passport cards or certain other federal documents as an alternative to a Real ID.

The DHS has spent years on its Real ID public information campaign, but many people remain confused over how to get the cards and what they are.

“Most savvy travelers know that they’ll need a Real ID to board a plane. … The people most affected will be infrequent travelers,” says Michelle Couch-Friedman, founder and CEO of advocacy organization Consumer Rescue. “Their mother gets sick and they have to get on a plane. They don’t have a Real ID. … They don’t know that they need a special ID just to fly domestically.” Her prediction: “There will need to be a separate section of the airport for all the people who are denied boarding and waiting to make their complaints.”

Many of those travelers could be 50-plus. According to research from AARP, 46 percent of travelers 50-plus plan to take an airplane for domestic trips in 2025.

According to an April 11, 2025, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) news release, travelers who have a state-issued identification that is not Real ID compliant or do not have an acceptable alternative such as a passport, “can expect to face delays, additional screening and the possibility of not being permitted into the security checkpoint.”

Here’s what to know about Real ID.

A few basics about Real ID:

To get a Real ID, you need to present documents to your motor vehicle department proving your age and identity, Social Security number and address. That generally means bringing a birth certificate or passport, a Social Security card or tax form such as a W-2, and two proofs of address. If you’ve changed your name through marriage, you’ll need a marriage certificate.
Although the Real ID is also a driver’s license, the old-style driver’s license is still lawful for driving and still an option in many states. New Jersey, for example, continues to issue standard state licenses marked with the words “Not for ‘REAL ID’ purposes.”
A proposed federal rule would have allowed TSA to consider a phased approach to Real ID enforcement. “Every air traveler 18 years of age and older must have a Real ID-compliant ID or another form of acceptable ID at airport checkpoints,” said TSA spokesperson R. Carter Langston via a November 2024 email.
Alternative IDs include passports, passport cards, U.S. military IDs, an ID from the federal Trusted Traveler Program (such as a Global Entry card) and Real ID-compliant mobile driver’s licenses. Five states — Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington — offer Enhanced Driver’s Licenses (EDL), which are also acceptable alternatives to Real ID and provide proof of U.S. citizenship. For international travel, you’ll still need a passport.
Don’t assume a Real ID is acceptable for all types of travel. In 2023, a woman contacted Couch-Friedman about an ID-related cruise mishap. The traveler thought a Real ID would work as identification for a cruise from Baltimore to the Caribbean and back. But when the woman and her husband arrived at the ship, they weren’t allowed on board. The reason: Real ID doesn’t offer proof of citizenship, so it’s not acceptable for a closed-loop cruise (a cruise that begins and ends in the same U.S. port). Acceptable ID would have included an Enhanced Driver’s License, passport, or birth certificate.
Beware of scammers taking advantage of the confusion over the new rule. They are sending out phishing emails, texts, and calls that appear to be from a legitimate source, such as your state DMV or the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about the new requirement. The messages will entice you to click on links so criminals can obtain your personal information or download malware onto your computer. Know that DMVs will never ask you to provide personal information by text or email.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published Aug. 23, 2019. It was updated to reflect that Real ID is in effect.

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Christina Ianzito covers scams and fraud, and is the books editor for aarp.org and AARP The Magazine. Also a longtime travel writer and editor, she received a 2020 Lowell Thomas Award for travel writing from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation.

Ken Budd has written for National Geographic Traveler, Travel+Leisure, The Washington Post Magazine and many more. He is the author of a memoir, The Voluntourist.

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