Feds extend deadline on REAL ID enforcement

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has extended the REAL ID enforcement deadline, including in Missouri. 

The IDs are optional but will be required for people 18 years and older to board commercial planes, enter nuclear power plants, as well as federal sites like military bases and federal courthouses. 

Circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic were cited as the reason for the delay. 

The law was previously set to begin on May 3 of this year. 

The new deadline is May 7, 2025. 

Other forms of ID that will be allowed for domestic air travel are a REAL ID-compliant identification card, state-issued enhanced driver’s license, or another TSA-acceptable form of identification.  

The federal REAL ID Act, which was passed in 2005, requires stricter identification standards for homeland security and immigration purposes.