After nearly fifteen years of shifting deadlines and rules for compliance, the Department of Homeland Security has set a final deadline of October 1, 2020 for all domestic air travelers to have either 'enhanced' state IDs or a valid passport. And that's not as far away as it might seem.
Only seven states are still not compliant with the rules for harder-to-counterfeit licenses and IDs linked to secure databases, and those seven are in the process of getting to compliance by the deadline. Six states have extensions until later this year (Oregon, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maine) and California's status is "under review."
The compliant licenses can be identified by the word "Enhanced" in the form or a star in the upper corner. And there's a further wrinkle: Even if you live in a compliant state, you may need a new license, as states can—and do—offer both compliant and non-compliant IDs. This has allowed several states to comply despite fears by some of their citizens that "Big Brother" is watching.
Travelers who insist on non-compliant licenses will still be able to use their passports. Unless they think Big Brother is behind those, too.
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