NJ Sets Up REAL ID Emergency Program for ‘Life-or-Death Reasons’

People traveling in the United States on domestic flights have to use a REAL ID, or another suitable form identification such as as a passport, starting May 7.

Passengers at O'Hare International Airport wait in line to be screened at a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint, in Chicago on May 16, 2016. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Officials in New Jersey have said they are setting up an “emergency issuance program“ for REAL IDs, ahead of a federal requirement that is scheduled to take effect next month.

The program will be only for qualified individuals who need to board a domestic flight within 14 days of a “life-or-death” situation or for urgent travel plans if they do not have a REAL ID or another form of identification, such as a U.S. passport, that can clear Transportation Security Checkpoints, officials said in a statement on April 22.