REAL IDSecurity Theater REALized and Flying without REAL ID

By Alexis Hancock

Published 20 May 2025

After multiple delays of the REAL ID Act of 2005 and its updated counterpart, the REAL ID Modernization Act, in the United States, the May 7th deadline of REAL ID enforcement has finally arrived. Does this move our security forward in the skies?

After multiple delays of the REAL ID Act of 2005 and its updated counterpart, the REAL ID Modernization Act, in the United States, the May 7th deadline of REAL ID enforcement has finally arrived. Does this move our security forward in the skies? The last 20 years says we got along fine without it. There were and are issues along the way that REAL ID does impose on everyday people, such as potential additional costs and rigid documentation, even if you already have a state issued ID. While TSA states this is not a national ID or a federal database, but a set of minimum standards required for federal use, we are still watchful of the mechanisms that have pivoted to potential privacy issues with the expansion of digital IDs.

But you don’t need a REAL ID just to fly domestically. There are alternatives.

The most common alternatives are passports or passport cards. You can use either instead of a REAL ID, which might save you an immediate trip to the DMV. And the additional money for a passport at least provides you the extra benefit of international travel.

Passports and passport cards are not the only alternatives to REAL IDAdditional documentation is also accepted as well: (this list is subject to change by the TSA):

  • REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent and this excludes a temporary driver’s license)
  • State-issued Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) or Enhanced ID (EID)
  • U.S. passport
  • U.S. passport card
  • DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRIFAST)
  • U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
  • Permanent resident card
  • Border crossing card
  • An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe, including Enhanced Tribal Cards (ETCs)
  • HSPD-12 PIV card
  • Foreign government-issued passport
  • Canadian provincial driver’s license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
  • Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
  • U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential
  • Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)

Foreign government-issued passports are on this list. However, using a foreign-government issued passport may increase your chances of closer scrutiny at the security gate. REAL ID and other federally accepted documents are supposed to be about verifying your identity, not about your citizenship status.