In a few months, REAL ID enforcement will start at airport checkpoints and secure federal facilities. Here's how to get one in Virginia.
Patch Staff
|Updated Tue, Jan 7, 2025 at 1:52 pm ET
VIRGINIA — As the law stands, Virginia residents who are 18 and older must show a Real ID, a passport or other federally approved identification to board domestic flights or certain federal buildings beginning May 7.
The anti-terrorism law requiring the “gold star ID,” as it’s sometimes called, was originally supposed to take effect in 2008, but has been delayed so often that it has become a running joke. Will the Real ID Act really take effect this year?
Technically, yes.
The current May 7, 2025, deadline still stands, but the Transportation Security Administration has asked for flexibility to implement enforcement in phases, with progressive enforcement ending in 2027. But that doesn’t mean you should wait until then to make an application.
Here’s what you need to know about getting a Real ID or compliant identification card in Virginia:
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The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles offers a REAL ID compliant driver's license or ID card as alternatives to the standard identification. REAL ID is only needed if you will be boarding a domestic flight and don't use a passport or another accepted form of ID. It is also a requirement to enter a secure federal facility unless you are using an accepted form of ID such as a U.S. passport or military ID.
Virginians may still use their standard driver's license as an ID to drive; register to vote or vote; verify identity at banks, utilities or retail; apply to receive federal benefits, and access health or life-saving services.
REAL ID compliant cards will have a star in the top right corner, while standard cards will read "federal limits apply."
To apply, Virginia residents may start an application online or visit a Virginia DMV location. Then, the residents would need to bring required documents to a Virginia DMV location: one proof of identity, two proofs of Virginia residency, one proof of legal presence, and Social Security number. Proof of name change is required if the name appears differently on the other documents. A $10 fee is charged along with the standard costs for a driver's license or ID card.
The Real ID Act of 2005 was originally supposed to take effect in 2008 but has been delayed for multiple reasons, including those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. States’ lack of urgency is also to blame, according to testimony at a late December 2023 Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security hearing that warned of “utter mayhem at our airports” on May 7, 2025, if the deadline is vigorously enforced.
The Department of Homeland Security estimates that only about 70 percent of state-issued identifications would be Real ID-complaint by the deadline.
TSA agents screen about 2.5 million passengers a day, and if just 1 percent of them were to present non-Real ID-compliant driver’s licenses, 25,000 passengers could be turned away in a single day. In a week, 175,000 passengers would be prohibited from flying, 750,000 would be stopped in a month and 2.25 million would be denied in three months.
Under the proposed rule, people are strongly encouraged to get their Real IDs by the May 7 enforcement date, and they may face delays at airport security checkpoints if they don’t have it. Instead of stopping them from boarding aircraft, non-compliant travelers would be issued warnings to get their paperwork in order by May 5, 2027.
“TSA is engaging with the public, licensing jurisdictions and states to facilitate a smooth transition to REAL ID enforcement beginning May 7, 2025,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement. “REAL ID provides an important security enhancement, and this rule allows us to plan for a range of scenarios to help minimize the potential impact to travelers, industry stakeholders and states during implementation.”
TSA does not require children under 18 to show ID at checkpoints when traveling with an adult companion with acceptable ID.
Plans for the gradual rollout are still in progress. The TSA could use a three-strike rule, warning travelers multiple times to acquire their Real IDs before turning them away.
The Real ID law, passed in 2005 in response to the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, strengthens national security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards.