On May 7, 2025, millions of Americans will be unable to use their government-issued photo identification—usually, a driver’s license—to board a domestic flight, enter a federal government building, or visit a nuclear power plant. It is part of a plan enacted by Congress 20 years ago that is finally coming to fruition.
“REAL ID” is a term coined by the REAL ID Act of 2005. The law was passed a few years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in response to security concerns about the identities of people visiting possible terrorist targets.
