PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — It’s been delayed a couple of times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but federal officials say the real deadline for REAL ID is one year away from Tuesday, and travelers won’t be able to fly without one.
Effective May 3, 2023, you’ll need a passport or REAL ID-compliant drivers license to get through Transportation and Security Administration security checkpoints at airports and fly domestically or internationally.
“Anyone 18 years or older, if they don’t have a passport or other federally-recognized ID to travel, they will need a REAL ID,” said PennDOT Acting Executive Deputy Secretary Melissa Batula.
The REAL ID is a license verified with citizenship and residency documents, certified with a star in a gold circle.
Pennsylvania REAL ID Program Manager Sarah Baker said that in addition to PennDOT drivers license centers, the state has 13 REAL ID centers including some in King of Prussia, Norristown and at 2904 S. 70th St. in Philadelphia.
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“When we designed the Real ID centers, we actually strategically put them near airports in case you had that rush, where you had to get out of town for one reason or another,” Baker said.
“So you can bring in your documentation, you can be processed and then you can get your REAL ID over the counter.”
To get a REAL ID, travelers need a series of documents, such as a birth certificate and Social Security card, to prove their identity. There’s a $30 fee in Pennsylvania, $35 in New Jersey.
REAL ID important links from PennDOT:
- Getting a REAL ID online
- REAL ID online pre-verification
- REAL ID brochure
- REAL ID important documents
So far, PennDOT has issued 1.6 million REAL-ID compliant licenses since March 2019. That’s about 10% of its licenses.
Baker said that if you got your license after 2003, you may be able to streamline the REAL ID process by pre-verifying your documents online.
Gerardo Spero, the TSA's federal security director for Philadelphia International Airport, said that one year from now, anyone 18 or over will need that REAL ID.
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“It’s absolutely critical, so critical that as of May 3, 2023, we won’t allow you to board that aircraft without it,” said Spero.
“What I want you to envision is a scenario where you’re sitting on an airplane full of people that neither you nor we know anything about, such as was the case on 9/11.”
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