REAL ID Deadline Extended Again For Colorado, Rest Of Nation

COLORADO — U.S. residents will have an additional 19 months to get their REAL ID after the Department of Homeland Security delayed the requirement for air travelers to have a REAL ID-compliant form of identification by Oct. 1.

The deadline has been postponed until May 3, 2023, for Colorado and all other states. Officials said the new delay is due to the pandemic, which is making it harder for people to get into state motor vehicle departments and get the new IDs.

Fewer than 50 percent of Americans have obtained their REAL ID; however, most Colorado driver licenses and identification cards have been REAL ID compliant since 2012. Some Colorado identification cards that don't have a gold or black star will not be accepted after May 3, 2023.

The REAL ID Act was passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to establish minimum security standards for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards.

The Department of Homeland Security initially postponed the enforcement date for REAL ID from Oct. 1, 2020, to Oct. 1, 2021, in response to COVID-19.

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"Extending the Real ID full enforcement deadline will give states needed time to reopen their driver's licensing operations and ensure their residents can obtain a Real ID-compliant license or identification card," DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

Real ID compliant cards are issued after a more thorough check of an applicant's identification and incorporate new security features that make them harder to counterfeit. Under the Real ID Act, travelers 18 or older wanting to board an airplane by using a driver's license for identification must have one that conforms with the law's stricter requirements.

Patch Editor Mark Hand contributed to this report.