Updated: REAL ID Deadline Delayed to May 7, 2025, Due to Lingering COVID-19 Impact
 

Suggestions are being floated that DHS postpone REAL ID due to coronavirus. LA Times has one article but there are others also. Again I can't link or copy/paste from this device.

One California State Senator mentioned that Covid issues might mean that the federal government would be forced to postpone the Real ID deadline. He has no say in the matter, he is one person in any event, and he did not have any more information than anyone on FT.

This idea was mentioned in NJ today because of long lines at DMV offices exposing people to coronavirus.

A postponement only kicks the can down the road. What needs to happen, in my opinion, is repeal of the legislation creating Real ID. Of course DHS has no say in that.

I think what is more likely to happen is that DHS will postpone REAL ID using the Corona virus as a justification. Of course it won't be the actual reason, because it has been apparent for months that many states will not meet the deadline and there will be chaos at checkpoints. But the Corona virus gives the government a convenient excuse.

Think the above is right on. Regardless of the reason, or excuse if you like, the country just isn't Real ID ready. COVIG-19 gives DHS a convenient, face saving, excuse to push back the deadline for another 6 or so months. Lets see if DHS is smart enough to seize this golden opportunity.

If the feds do anything, it won't be until much closer to the deadline. That leaves anyone who needs or wants to travel and who doesn't have either a lot of time on their hands or an alternative ID such as GE / Passport, still at DMV.

Wouldn't postponing now give everyone the greatest flexibility possible? They can continue with getting Real ID, or resolving documentation issues, while continuing to travel with whatever documents they now have.

Neither GE or a passport are obtained at a DMV. They never have been.

I think you (and petaluma1) misread the poster's post. He never said that GE or a passport were obtained at the DMV. He said that since the Feds would likely make the change too late, that unless you already had a passport or GE, you would still have to go to the DMV to get a Real ID DL.

Of course they aren't. On the other hand, I have no idea what you are talking about.

The point is that if one has a Passport, GE card, or any other number of non-Real ID documents which meet the TSA requirements, you don't need to worry about obtaining a Real ID drivers license right now and can deal with it at some point down the road.

The demand for REAL ID ID to travel is down, as the demand for travel falls and the need for it to travel plummets..

https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus: "TSA will accept expired driver’s licenses a year after the expiration date"

That is not a new policy. TSA is using a pre-existing TSA policy while doing no one any new favors related to ID.

I’ve been using expired ID with the TSA often over the years. As long as it’s been expired less than a year, it has been fine for at least 13 years.

They have slightly modified the policy.