Fliers from five non-compliant states in America will soon not be able to use their driver’s license to board domestic flights.
The ruling, which comes under the Real ID Act passed 10 years ago, is down to states not complying to the stricter standards for state-issued IDs given by the government.
Fewer than half (22) of the states have complied with the recent law, and while the other states are pending review, five states – Illinois; Minnesota; Missouri; New Mexico and Washington – have been deemed non-compliant, with no review pending.
The Real ID Act was designed to toughen standards on what documents were needed to get a driver’s license in an effort to crack down on the potential for terrorists and criminals to obtain state-issued IDs.
The act makes it harder to obtain a drivers license with counterfeit records.
Despite the law stating that non-compliant IDs cannot be used to board domestic flights, neither the Department of Homeland Security, nor TSA have been enforcing the standard, but reportedly will start enforcing it in 2016, according to CNN Money.
Other than the five states mentioned previously, the majority of people living in non-compliant states are not at risk any time soon and 19 states have been granted waiver extensions through to October 10, 2016, with four states currently under review for an extension.
