LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — In just under a year, anyone looking to board any domestic flight will be required to have a document called a REAL ID.
However, if you don’t have one just yet or haven’t even heard of it— you’re not alone.
"We started offering this in 2016,” said Scott Harding with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. “We have 630,000 Arkansans that have a REAL ID. We also have 1.7 million that have a regular license or ID."
Hardin explained how soon, a regular license won't be enough to get through the TSA checkpoint while at airports in the United States.
"Beginning May 7, 2025, if you want to board a flight, you have to have either a REAL ID, an active US passport, or an active military Department of Defense ID,” Hardin described.
This comes after Congress passed the REAL ID Act of 2005 in response to the attacks on 9/11, seeking to create a more secure form of identification across the country.
Parts of the plan have been rolled out since then, but the flight requirement has been delayed multiple times— most recently because of COVID-19.
Now, it’s finally set for May 7, 2025. You might have found yourself wondering what the difference is between a REAL ID and your current driver’s license.
Well, in Arkansas and many other states, the difference is small. There's just a gold star in the top right corner. While it's a small change, not having that gold star could keep you from your dream trip next summer.
Shane Carter with Little Rock’s Clinton National Airport said they’ve been working hard to make sure that doesn’t happen.
"We're working with TSA and the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration to roll out a communications campaign,” Carter said. "We do not want this to be a surprise for anyone."
So how do you get a REAL ID? In Arkansas, you can visit any of the state’s 134 revenue offices.
Many people across the state have been preparing ahead of the big deadline, and Casey Baillargeon is just one Arkansan who has already gone through the process.
"I made sure I had all that together,” Baillargeon said. “I came up here, gave it to them. They had me ready in maybe 10-15 minutes, tops. In and out."
To get a REAL ID, you must bring all the documents you would need to get a regular license. In addition, you must also have proof of residency, which could be utility bills or a mortgage statement.
The idea behind the change to the REAL ID is to create a federal standard for identification that will be easily verifiable.
"When you hand that card over to TSA or at the airport,” Hardin said, “They can look at it and say, ‘Okay, this is legitimate. This person has proven to the government that they are who they say they are.’"
All the information you need to obtain an Arkansas REAL ID can be found by clicking here.