When someone tells you to "get real," they mean you'd better understand the true facts of a situation. Well, you better get REAL if you want to enter a federal building or fly on a commercial aircraft after October 1, 2020. Unusual for such major federal legislation, the REAL in the REAL ID Act of 2005 isn't an acronym but an all-caps word intended to emphasize that states must adopt minimum federal standards for the documents required to obtain a driver's license or state-issued ID card. The act also prohibits federal agencies from accepting noncompliant IDs for any type of official business.
The good news is that most states have been issuing driver's licenses and ID cards that for a number of years have complied with the REAL ID Act, so more than likely your ID is already compliant. How can you tell? Look for a gold or black star in the upper right corner of your card. In my state, the Georgia Department of Motor Vehicles has been issuing compliant licenses and cards since July 1, 2012, and estimates that more than 96 percent of registered Georgia drivers
have a compliant license. However, three states—New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Oregon—only came into compliance in early October after being granted a number of extensions.
So much time—15 years—has passed between passage of the act and the final compliance deadline because 25 states mounted legal challenges to the act's constitutionality, often claiming that it was essentially establishing a national ID card or abridging state's rights. These challenges were all defeated, but the Department of Homeland Security was required to announce a number of compliance extensions to give the states time to change their processes.
In reality, you do not have to have REAL ID-compliant identification to access federal services or commercial flights. A passport will suffice, although I think a state-issued license or ID card is more convenient. The REAL ID, however, does not substitute for a passport for international travel.
This website has a great deal of background and interesting information about the REAL ID program and the states' implementation. You can also find READ ID information on the websites of most state motor vehicle departments.
You might ask: so what? What does this change have to do with payments and risk? While the REAL ID Act technically affects only a citizen's interactions with federal agencies, it's quite possible that financial institutions will begin requiring a compliant driver's license or ID card as an acceptable form of documentation in compliance with their Customer Identification Program.
Are you ready? Get REAL!
By David Lott, a payments risk expert in the Retail Payments Risk Forum at the Atlanta Fed