The Real ID Act was designed to make identification cards more secure and harder to duplicate or forge and was part of the recommendations issued by the 9/11 Commission. The Real ID Act is not a new law, having been passed by Congress in 2005, but after years of court battles and extensions, the law will soon change the way residents get into federally controlled facilities and fly on planes.
Have you gotten your Real ID yet? From its creation to what documents are needed to apply and the progress made in Illinois and neighboring states, NBC 5 has learned the ins and out of Real ID to help you get prepared for Oct. 1 deadline, and has taken extra measures including extending hours and encouraging anyone who doesn't need the ID to reconsider applying for it. But in Illinois, the Secretary of State’s Office remains “cautiously optimistic” it will be able to meet the Oct. Some states like Oregon haven’t even started issuing IDs, and others like New Jersey remain overwhelmed by demand. Major airports have warned of commotion at U.S.As of late February, two-thirds of Americans with state-issued IDs had yet to get a Real ID.A Real ID card, or other qualifying form of ID such as a passport, will be required to fly anywhere inside the U.S.