DMV Administrator: Air travel ID deadline is only a year away, but you may have less time than that

For air travel within the U.S., most people use their state driver license or ID card to get through airport security. They also can use a passport as they would for an international flight. But starting May 7, 2025, your standard Oregon driver license or ID card will no longer get you on a domestic flight.

You will need to show a Real ID-compliant state license or ID card, or a passport or passport card. With just one year left to prepare, Oregon’s DMV is asking you to get informed and make a plan.

Since Oregon’s Real ID option became available in July 2020, about a quarter of the 3.7 million Oregon license and ID card holders have chosen it over the standard card. The average across the United States is better, but not great: about 50%.

Not everyone needs Real ID. But our concern for Oregonians is the unknowable numbers of people who will need new ID to board a plane, but don’t realize it.

Airports across the country expect that infrequent travelers will learn about Real ID next year when they arrive at airport security. The TSA has an alternate security process for people who don’t have the right ID, but it takes longer. And if the TSA sees the expected surge in people needing that process, it could take so much longer that many people will miss their flights.

As the May 7, 2025, deadline approaches, DMVs across the country will be overwhelmed with applicants for Real ID driver licenses — at a time of chronic staff shortages nationwide. And the U.S. State Department will be overwhelmed with applications for passports.

If that’s not enough reason to act now, consider this: What if you need additional documents to apply for Real ID or a passport? You may need to order a certified birth certificate from the state where you were born in order to apply for a Real ID card or passport. State agencies that issue birth certificates may also be overwhelmed, adding weeks more to your application processes. And once you get to DMV and conclude your transaction, it will be about two weeks before the card arrives in the mail.

In other words, if you book a flight next year a couple weeks ahead and don’t have the necessary ID, you won’t have enough time to get that ID.

The good news is that the 2024 Legislature authorized DMV to hire 26 staff to work in field offices exclusively for Real ID transactions. In a few months we’ll have them hired and trained, and we’ll be opening many more appointment slots to accommodate customers’ needs.

Don’t get grounded for months by waiting too long, even if there is only a small chance you’ll travel by air. If your Oregon driver license or ID card is expiring, get the Real ID option when you renew. You can renew up to one year before your license expires. You can also replace your card — and add the Real ID option — anytime.

Do you have friends or family members who don’t read the news and may not have heard of the Real ID Act? Please urge them to get ready, too.

Whether renewing or replacing, you must apply in person to qualify for Real ID. You cannot do it online. You also must bring more documents than for a standard license renewal. Find out what you need to bring to DMV with our online tool today.

DMV Administrator Amy Joyce lives in the Salem area. Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division, one of the biggest divisions of the Oregon Department of Transportation, is the one state agency where nearly every Oregon resident needs services — driver licensing, vehicle registration and identification.