Texans Flying After May 7, 2025 Need To Check Their Texas IDs Now!

Summer travel season will soon be here and Texans are already planning their big summer vacation.

If those summer vacation plans will have you boarding a plane after May 07, 2025, you'll need to make sure that your driver's license or legal ID is Real ID compliant or you will not be flying at all.

While your regular Texas driver's license will get you through TSA and on the plane right now, that will change in May. So if you've got plans to head to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado or Wyoming, or to Disney World in Orlando, or somewhere in Maine, LA, or elsewhere around the globe, you'll want to make sure your ID has one important thing on it.

Is your license missing one key icon?

Here's the deal, if your driver's license does not have a gold circle with the star in the middle of it you'll be denied access to the airport terminal and TSA will not allow you to get to your gate and you will miss that final boarding call to your destination.

Beginning May 7, 2025, your ID must be REAL ID compliant.

Your Texas ID may be a REAL ID already and you just aren't aware of it.

Take a look at your driver's license, if it has a gold circle with a star on it, you're set and there's nothing else you need to do, you're good to go.

If not, you have until May 7, 2025, to renew your license to become compliant or you'll be denied access to airports, even some federal buildings.

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When did REAL ID become a thing?

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, Congress passed a law in 2005 establishing 'minimum security standards for license issuance and production', according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) website, to combat the threat of terrorism. The law has been around for nearly two decades.

The law was originally slated to go into effect in 2020, but many states had challenges meeting this deadline and it was pushed back to 2021, but the pandemic caused issues and now the DHS has set the firm date of May 7, 2025.

How do you obtain a REAL ID?

Stop into any Texas DMV office and ask for a new REAL ID-compliant driver's license or identification card. You'll need some additional information or paperwork:

• One document that establishes identity, date of birth, and proof of U.S. citizenship, lawful permanent residence, or other lawful U.S. status. A birth certificate will suffice for most people.
• Your Social Security number (card not required) or evidence of SSN ineligibility.
• Two documents to establish proof of residence in the state you're getting the ID for, such as a utility bill, paycheck stub, or mortgage payment.

One important thing to note is, that your REAL ID-compliant driver's license is not a replacement for a passport, which you'll need for international travel, including those cruises you go on and any trip to Mexico or Canada.

The silver lining is that for most Texans, whether you realize it or not, you're most likely already REAL ID compliant because most licenses issued by the State Of Texas have had that golden circle with the star on it since 2016.

If you need more information on REAL ID use this site will have all the assistance you need.