CHICAGO — A decades-delayed federal deadline requiring a “Actual ID” to board home flights is about to lastly take impact Might 7.
However at a Thursday morning press convention, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias stated “we don’t need folks freaking out and sprinting to the amenities.”
With simply 75 days till the deadline, Chicago-area DMVs have added 2,500 each day appointments to deal with the push for Actual IDs, which might be issued on an energetic driver’s license or state-issued identification card.
A document variety of folks utilized for a Actual ID in 2024 because the deadline looms, Giannoulias stated, however lower than a 3rd of Illinoisans at the moment have one.
Some folks could by no means want a Actual ID — in the event that they keep a legitimate U.S. passport or don’t plan to get on a airplane, Giannoulias stated.
“As of Might 7, in case you have a present legitimate normal driver’s license, you don’t want a Actual ID to legally drive a automobile,” Giannoulias stated. “You don’t want a Actual ID to indicate identification. You don’t want a Actual ID for proof of citizenship. As of Might 7, you have to a Actual ID-compliant driver’s license or state ID in case you are over the age of 18 and intend to fly a industrial airline or go to sure federal amenities. However let me be very clear: You may nonetheless fly in case you have a legitimate U.S. passport.”
Amenities the place Actual IDs may very well be required embody federal courthouses and army bases.
The TSA is planning a “phased enforcement strategy” which can give airline vacationers with out correct identification solely warnings till Might 5, 2027, Giannoulias stated.
The Actual ID guidelines had been launched in 2005 and had been set to take impact in 2008 however have confronted “blown deadlines, delays and extensions” — but it surely’s “for actual this time,” Giannoulias stated.
As a result of the Secretary of State’s Workplace has seen elevated wait instances at its two walk-in amenities because the deadline approaches, the workplace recommends that Actual ID candidates make an appointment at an area DMV upfront. You can also make an appointment on-line right here.
Actual ID candidates should seem in-person with figuring out paperwork. A “guidelines” of vital paperwork to deliver might be discovered right here. Not sure in case you at the moment have a Actual ID? A Actual ID license has a gold star within the higher proper nook, in response to the Illinois Secretary of State’s web site.
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