Even if you haven't traveled abroad in a while, you may want to dig out your passport and check its validity. Depending on which state you live in, you may need a passport to fly within the United States in 2018. According to Business Insider, the days of showing your driver's license may be long gone under the TSA's new REAL ID Act. Hey, think of this less as an annoyance to take care of an expired passport and more as a reason to improve on the photo you’ve pasted onto your travel document since the awkward days of high school?
When you travel, you obviously want your trip to go as smoothly as possible. Lugging luggage on a bus or train is already quite an exercise. When you get to the check-in desk, you don't want turbulence to start on the ground. Once, I arrived at the airport only to find that my friend and I were a day ahead of our flight, perhaps in a subconscious rush to get home. We had to drag all our stuff back into town, find a place to stay for this bonus night, and then do it all over again the next day. It goes without saying that when it comes to traveling, it helps to be prepared. That's why it's important to stay up to date on domestic TSA rules and regulations.
So, what's going on? Residents of some states will soon be unable to use their driver's licenses for domestic travel from U.S. airports, according to Department of Homeland Security guidelines. But why? ! What does this all mean? How do you know if you are affected by this? !
First things first. Let’s take a look at the new law, shall we? This is called the REAL ID Act. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the bill "establishes minimum security standards for license issuance and production and prohibits federal agencies from accepting for certain purposes driver's licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet the bill's minimum standards." Essentially. , some state-issued licenses no longer meet these federal standards, but passports do. Some state licenses are already compliant, so they have nothing to worry about, but (as of January 8, 2018) licenses from over 20 states and U.S. territories are not.
The REAL ID Act was scheduled to begin affecting travelers on January 22, 2018, but states deemed unsatisfied under the new law were granted extensions to review their licenses, so the issue does not need to be revisited until October 22 . October 10, 2018. By then, if driver's licenses in these states are still not REAL ID Act compliant, you'll technically need a passport to travel domestically — but residents will have a grace period until 2020, Business Insider reports, here In the meantime, their driver's licenses are still valid at the airport - they're just reminded of the new laws in place. According to the Department of Homeland Security, these states and U.S. territories are as follows:
- Alaska
- washington
- California
- idaho
- Oregon
- north dakota
- Montana
- Virginia
- rhode island
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Illinois
- kentucky
- maine
- New Hampshire
- Oklahoma
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- Louisiana
- Pennsylvania
- south carolina
- New York
- The Virgin Islands
- Guam
- Puerto Rico
- Northern Mariana Islands (currently under review)
- American Samoa (currently under review)
Using the Internet, you can check your state's specific status through the Department of Homeland Security's website. If your state complies, congratulations, you won’t have to dig through boxes in the house to figure out where the “safe place” for your passport is.
Now you know the details, so you can at least be prepared. That way, you only have to worry about which pair of pants are most comfortable while flying and what's the best way to get to your hotel after landing. It's a joy to travel anywhere, no matter how long the line at security is or how many computer systems are down, and now, at least you'll have the right photo ID. This will definitely help you avoid frustration at the start of any trip and make friendly skies a lot smoother.
