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DHS again delays REAL ID deadline, pushes compliance date to May 2025

Federal officials on Monday moved back the deadline another two years to get your REAL ID with federally mandated security features such as hologram imprints and high-resolution digital facial photos.

The Department of Homeland Security said it extended the REAL ID compliance date from May 3, 2023, to May 7, 2025, due to COVID-19 affecting state agencies’ ability to process driver’s licenses and identification cards.

Eventually, everyone 18 and older will need a REAL ID-compliant form of identification to board an airplane for domestic flights or access certain federal buildings.

“This extension will give states needed time to ensure their residents can obtain a REAL ID-compliant license or identification card,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in announcing the delay.