ST. LOUIS — In less than a year, the Department of Homeland Security will begin enforcing Real ID identification for federal purposes, including for getting through airport security. And if you have been waiting to get yours, the process just got easier in Missouri.
In a Thursday press release, the Missouri Department of Revenue announced it expanded the list of acceptable residency documents that can be used to verify residency, and the department can also accept electronic copies transmitted from a mobile device for eligible requestors.
For a full list of documents that you can use to obtain a Real ID, click here to use the Missouri DOR's Real ID guide.
Nearly 3 million Missouri Real IDs have been issued since 2019, and the department said one of the biggest complaints was the requirement of two residency documents.
The Real ID implementation date has moved multiple times since the law was passed in 2005/
Currently, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lists regular driver’s licenses and state photo ID cards as acceptable forms of identification at airport checkpoints, but it notes that all such IDs must be REAL ID compliant by the May 7, 2025 deadline for anyone seeking to fly within the U.S.
After that date, the only driver’s licenses or state ID cards TSA will accept will be REAL ID cards. TSA will also accept passports and certain other forms of identification. REAL ID cards won’t be enough to get on international flights, TSA says, which will still require passports.
The REAL ID Act became law in 2005, and prohibited federal agencies from accepting state driver’s licenses and IDs, unless those documents met minimum security requirements. These requirements would be set by the Secretary of Homeland Security, and included “the incorporation of specified data, a common machine-readable technology, and certain anti-fraud security features.”
A Real ID could also be used to access federal facilities like military bases and federal courthouses or access nuclear power plants.