# Deadline for Real ID for air travel pushed back until May 3, 2023: upd to May 7, 2025 **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 27, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875 "2021-04-27T19:05:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2025, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/141 "2025-04-11T17:48:48Z")
Yeah. The short vs. long form thing. I was thinking of replacing my birth certificate because the 60+ years old piece of paper is literally falling apart. When figuring out how to do that I discovered what I have is the short form. Given how things are going I’m ordering long form replacements. I’ve had a realID for some time now - when I went to renew my driver’s license at one point I was NOT given a choice, the clerk just _did it_ and then I got stuck because, not knowing that was going to happen, I didn’t have any of the required documents on hand. It was a mess. It took me 6 months and $700 to get that shit straightened out (there’s a thread around here somewhere where I talked about it). ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2025, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/142 "2025-04-11T18:27:12Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > Apparently what I had been using all these years was a “short form”, which did not include things like my parent’s names. That’s the sort of thing that I think must be different from place to place - the document I used for everything, enhanced license, passport and any other time n my life I needed a birth certificate is what I suppose would be a “short form” , titled " Certification of Birth" but it does have my parents’ names in addition to my name, birth date and county of birth . The “long form” , titled “Certificate of Birth” is an actual photo copy of the document that was filed when I was born and includes a lot more information , such as my parents’ birthdates, places of birth (including the name of hospital) , how many babies were delivered and which order, if more than one , the birth attendant’s name and signature and my mother’s address. Before this post, I had never heard of any sort of birth certificate that didn’t have a parent’s name and now some difficulties people have had make a little more sense. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2025, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/143 "2025-04-11T18:39:09Z")
> [@drewbert](#): > > So wait, do I just need to ‘furnish’ the SSN, or do I need paper proof of it? Because unless I go and grab my actual card from the safe deposit box at the bank, none of those other documents actually will list the full unreacted SSN. Furnish, in Illinois last summer. A printout of one of the income/employment listed docs is suitable, the clerk doesn’t authenticate and just scanned them anyway. They aren’t usually Government documents, mine are generated by the payroll company. The new DL also lists last first middle names in full, my last one only had middle initial. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2025, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/144 "2025-04-11T18:42:34Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Maybe your car was totaled or something but it’s pretty unlikely. As long as you’re over 25 wouldn’t you be able to rent a car & drive home? I know one can do one way rentals (for some extra charge) but have never done a one way international rental. > [@doreen](#): > > I mean, I can but it’s sort of far-fetched. I drive to Canada, somewhere that’s not near the border but is near an airport. I have some sort of medical emergency and I can leave the Canadian hospital to go some sort of facility near home but for whatever reason, I can’t travel by car- maybe it’s too long a trip , maybe I need medical evacuation. And in that case, the US Embassy will issue a temporary passport. If you can’t drive, you probably can’t fly commercial where you have even less leg room & if you’re doing a medevac flight that’s basically a coordinated private charter & yes, the US Embassy can help you get temp travel docs, the same as if you had a passport that was lost or stolen while abroad. I was more thinking of flying home for speed rather than being physically unable to drive due to whatever injury that occurred while away. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2025, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/145 "2025-04-11T19:03:50Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > RealID is sorta cockamamie, and was invented for largely malign reasons. But the idea of a country actually having reliable records and accurate IDs of all the various flavors and statuses of people within their borders is not nuts. Pretty much every civilized country has that. Except the USA. The USA has always been against the “papers please” school of black leather trenchcoat wearing gestapo like policing. However, look at this- > **[List of national identity card policies by country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_identity_card_policies_by_country)** > > A national identity document is an identity card with a photo, usable as an identity card at least inside the country, and which is issued by an official national authority. Identity cards can be issued voluntarily or may be compulsory to possess as a resident or citizen. > Driving licences and other cards issued by state or regional governments indicating certain permissions are not counted here as national identity cards. So for example, by this criterion, the United States driver's license ... **Countries with non-compulsory identity cards** Denmark, France, Ireland, Sweden, etc **Countries with no identity cards** Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK. I think all of those qualify as “civilized”. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Not really. You merely need to prove citizenship. Real IDs need residency in a state proven in addition. And exactly how does that improve “security” or protect us from terrorists? 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2025, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/146 "2025-04-11T20:10:52Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > If you can’t drive, you probably can’t fly commercial where you have even less leg room & if you’re doing a medevac flight From Canada, it will be a lot cases of snow blindness, beaver bites, and freedom withdrawl trauma. Best to head south immediately. No lines at the border, from what I hear. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2025, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/147 "2025-04-11T20:29:11Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > White or not, I wasn’t taking any chances, so I got mine done about a month ago or so. At least here in Illinois, it looks very much like a driver’s license, but it is NOT, so you still need them both. My birthday was in late March and I neglected to pay attention to the date on my drivers license. When I realized I needed to renew it, the state of Illinois paradoxically told me that (a) I should renew it with a Real ID because the date was coming up and (b) unless I was planning on flying in the next couple of months DO NOT get a Real ID because they were so backed up that it would be a huge hassle and a lengthy appointment in the future. They took pains to say that you don’t really _need_ a Real ID unless you’re traveling so there’s no harm in the homebound putting it off past May. I have no plans to travel and the only place where an emergency might happen that I’d need to access is within driving distance so I went the “quick” route of just getting my standard license renewed so I’d be right with Pritzker and God. I’ll do the Real ID thing over the summer when hopefully the “appointment” schedule doesn’t look like “There’s a 8:45am available in East St Louis if you want to drive down from Chicago” ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2025, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/148 "2025-04-11T20:51:43Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > That’s the sort of thing that I think must be different from place to place - the document I used for everything, enhanced license, passport and any other time n my life I needed a birth certificate is what I suppose would be a “short form” , titled " Certification of Birth" but it does have my parents’ names in addition to my name, birth date and county of birth . The “long form” , titled “Certificate of Birth” is an actual photo copy of the document that was filed when I was born and includes a lot more information , such as my parents’ birthdates, places of birth (including the name of hospital) , how many babies were delivered and which order, if more than one , the birth attendant’s name and signature and my mother’s address. As I said, that’s what had me confused. I had always used this document as my proof of birth whenever I was requested to provide it. It was always accepted as sufficient, including (as I said) when I applied for a RealID and the TSA PreCheck. It wasn’t until I had applied for a passport that it was questioned. Of course, the difference between the two was obvious once I got the “long form”. What I had been using was titled “certification of Birth”, issued by the County Clerk’s Office, but the only info on it was my name, date of birth, sex, a “birth number”, and the date filed (shortly after my birth). The place of birth was just shown as city, county, state. No info about my parents or anything else. Also, from the “Date Issued” on the form it was not an old document; it was what I had gotten in 2008 when I requested a copy of my birth certificate from the county. I have no idea why I wasn’t given the “long form” at that time. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/149 "2025-04-12T16:23:55Z")
> [@drewbert](#): > > So wait, do I just need to ‘furnish’ the SSN, or do I need paper proof of it? Because unless I go and grab my actual card from the safe deposit box at the bank, none of those other documents actually will list the full unreacted SSN. Paper proof, as I understand it. ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/150 "2025-04-12T17:01:46Z")
I tend to agree - but that passage I quoted was just frustratingly vaguely written. “Furnish” and “If it’s not known” imply I just have to tell them the number. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/151 "2025-04-13T16:04:08Z")
They (Illinois) need to be paper tax/invoice/bill documents for scanning but they can be homemade printouts. They aren’t authenticating anyone’s utility bill, just scanning it and verifying the info matches. Of course, that only applies to tax or address docs and you couldn’t bring a photo of, say, your passport or birth certificate. _Those_ need to be original documents with the issuers’ security features intact. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/152 "2025-04-13T16:46:06Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > They (Illinois) need to be paper tax/invoice/bill documents for scanning but they can be homemade printouts. They aren’t authenticating anyone’s utility bill, just scanning it and verifying the info matches. Which is one of the things that irks me about the proof of residence - the very long list of acceptable documents in my state are often proof of nothing other than the fact that at some point in my life, I was able to receive mail at that address. I mean, my current driver’s license has an address I provided “proof” for 15 or 20 or 30 years ago - but I could use it today to change my license to a real ID (if I didn’t have one already). I can provide a cancelled check - but most people probably don’t buy new checks when they move. I get a W2 once a year - most jobs never actually verify employee addresses and even if they did, I could have moved shortly afterward. Maybe the _latest_ electric /gas/cable bill might be sort of reliable as proof of where I live - but lots of people won’t have one of those in their name. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/153 "2025-04-13T17:22:23Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > mean, my current driver’s license has an address I provided “proof” for 15 or 20 or 30 years ago One of the new rules for RealID is that the cards must be issued from a designated secure point in the Sec State, no more printing them at each of 75 SOS offices scattered around the State. This means you can’t receive your new DL the same day as an appointment but also that they mail it to the registered address. > [@doreen](#): > > Maybe the _latest_ electric /gas/cable bill might be sort of reliable as proof of where I live There was a document age limit, one year probably? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/154 "2025-04-13T17:31:48Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > There was a document age limit, one year probably? Looking at the checklist for the Illinois Secretary of State’s office (which runs DMV services in the state), to which I linked above, some of those “current address” documents list a specific a recency requirement (90 days for bank statements, cancelled checks, medical clam documents, jury duty notices, utility bills; 12 months for credit reports and tuition bills), while others (credit card statements, high school or college transcript, mortgage statement, pay stub, etc.) list no time frame. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/155 "2025-04-13T17:42:30Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > This means you can’t receive your new DL the same day as an appointment but also that they mail it to the registered address. This is the same for standard licenses as well. You get a printout to keep in your glove box and have to wait a few weeks for the real thing. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/156 "2025-04-13T17:43:06Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > One of the new rules for RealID is that the cards must be issued from a designated secure point in the Sec State, no more printing them at each of 75 SOS offices scattered around the State. This means you can’t receive your new DL the same day as an appointment but also that they mail it to the registered address. Right. One of my recent renewal notes (PR) states clearly that I was _ **not** _ to show up at my nearest Driver Services branch office _ **unless** _ the license never got to me (in which case I call them) or was returned to them (in which case they call me). ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/157 "2025-04-13T17:54:00Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > There was a document age limit, one year probably? Right, but my point is if anything other than the very latest one is acceptable, I could have moved after the February bill. > [@jnglmassiv](#): > > This means you can’t receive your new DL the same day as an appointment but also that they mail it to the registered address. If that’s the case and I don’t doubt it is , then it seems to me that sending the license via mail should be sufficient proof - but somehow it isn’t. And it really isn’t- my kids haven’t lived with me for 10 years but they can still get mail here. There’s a certain amount of theatre involved - we want to know where you actually live, so the the license/ID can no longer show a mailing address but at the same time, we don’t want to actually verify where you live\* so we will accept “proof of residence” that really just might be proof of somewhere you used to live and can still get mail. Part of reason for REAL ID was to standardize information and one of the requirements is licenses musts how the actual residential address, not a mailing address. For many ( maybe most) people, the address on their bank statements etc is where they actually currently live - but if they don’t care if that’s where the person actually lives, they why have that requirement ? \* I had a job that involved verifying where people actually lived - which we did by making unscheduled visits. No one is going to do that to issue ID ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2025, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/158 "2025-04-14T15:10:46Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Maybe the _latest_ electric /gas/cable bill might be sort of reliable as proof of where I live - but lots of people won’t have one of those in their name. It’s also not unusual for such a bill to be in the name of ONE person residing at an address but not all the people there. In fact, that’s the typical arrangement. So one half of a married couple could use the utility bill to prove residence but the other is SOL. Then there are people living in apartments where utilities are included as part of the rent. Better hope they’ll accept a lease with your name on it. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2025, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/159 "2025-04-14T15:20:25Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > It’s also not unusual for such a bill to be in the name of ONE person residing at an address but not all the people there. That’s kind of what I meant by “not having one of those in their name” . Although married couples may not have much of a problem - in my state, I could use the utility bill in my husband’s name as long as I showed a marriage certificate. If we weren’t married , that wouldn’t work. And I don’t know what someone in my son’s situation would have done - he shared an apartment with three other people, there was no lease , utilities were included except cable and that bill had one person’s name. ( What my son actually did was not change his address with motor vehicles when he moved out of my house) ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2025, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875/160 "2025-04-14T15:31:56Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > And I don’t know what someone in my son’s situation would have done - he shared an apartment with three other people, there was no lease , utilities were included except cable and that bill had one person’s name. ( What my son actually did was not change his address with motor vehicles when he moved out of my house) In NY accepted documents include bank statements, credit card statements, mail with your name/address on it, pay stubs, W-2s, and many others. Utility bills are just one of many accepted documents, likely because so many people here would not have utilities in their name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deadline-for-real-id-for-air-travel-pushed-back-until-may-3-2023-upd-to-may-7-2025/940875.md?page=9)