Fliers who don't have the latest driver's licenses will have a two-year reprieve before their IDs are rejected at airport security checkpoints.
Late Friday afternoon, DHS said passengers could continue using their current IDs until Jan. 22, 2018. Some would have until Oct. 1, 2020.After those dates, passengers without the proper driver's licenses would have to use other federally-approved forms of ID such as a passport.
The Real ID Act, approved by Congress in 2005, set standards on what documents are needed to get a driver's license. It was an effort to crack down on the potential for terrorists and criminals to obtain state-issued IDs.
For a license to be compliant with the Act, the state issuing it must incorporate anti-counterfeit technology into the card, verify the applicant's identity and conduct background checks for employees involved in issuing driver's licenses.
Currently, 23 states and U.S. territories have complied with the act and 27 states and territories have been granted an extension. Five states -- Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, Missouri and Washington -- and American Samoa have not complied and have not been granted an extension.
Those states oppose requirements in the law that include storing images of documents that driver's license applicants present as proof of their identity, such as birth certificates, said CNN Money. State officials say that information could be breached and could be used to track law-abiding U.S. citizens. They also oppose the U.S. government unilaterally setting standards in an area traditionally handled by the states, said CNN Money.
http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/08/news/drivers-license-passport-airport/