Avoid the Rush: Apply for a REAL IDs, which will be Soon be Required to Board Domestic Flights, the DMV Says

By Yehudit Garmaise

Put on your to-do list: apply for REAL IDs or Enhanced IDs because in one year: on May 3, 2023, the U.S. government will require Americans to provide the new identification cards or passports to board domestic flights, according to the website of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Americans may use their passports as “acceptable REAL ID-compliant documents,” according to the DMV, which added that the new forms of identification will be necessary to enter and all federal facilities and nuclear power plants.

REAL IDs are drivers’ licenses and identification cards that “establish minimum security standards,” and “are vital components of our national security framework,” the DHS website says. 

The US Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005, and in 2013, the DHS started to plan its rollout of new forms of identification that adhere to higher security standards than drivers’ licenses require.

New Yorkers whose driver’s licenses and IDs are up for renewal can get REAL IDs at no additional cost, while those who do not need renewals will have to pay an extra $12.50.

Enhanced IDs, which can be used as identification when returning to the U.S. by land or sea from Canada, Mexico, and some countries in the Caribbean, also meet federal REAL ID standards and cost $30 extra.

Applicants for REAL IDs or Enhanced IDs can make online reservations for appointments to visit DMV offices to prove their identities and have new photos taken.

To provide New Yorkers who fly with more information about the new identification cards, DMV employees will staff information tables at LaGuardia Airport, Albany International Airport, Syracuse Hancock International Airport, and Long Island MacArthur Airports at peak travel times, starting on May 8.