REAL ID Goes Into Effect May 7, 2025 – An Explanation For What It Means For You If You Don’t Have A REAL ID By that Date

March 7, 2025

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by By S.E. Gunn PhD, All News Pipeline:

H.R. 418 aka REAL ID Act of 2005 aka Public Law 109-13 followed a unique path to become law. By a House vote of 261-161, REAL ID was approved Feb 10, 2005. Instead of going to the Senate for a vote, then to the President for signature making it law, the House decided to include it within the “must pass” H.R. 1268 funding bill. The Senate passed H.R. 1268 Apr 21, 2005 BUT, they had removed the REAL ID Act. It was re-attached by a “conference report” prior to Congress passing it with a vote of 368-58 on May 10, 2005.

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The American Immigration Lawyers Association pointed out that there were no hearings or debate on this legislation. In addition, that by attaching it to a “must pass” spending bill, it did not receive an adequate level of scrutiny for importance and impact. They also claimed this action prevented Democrats from fully participating. I ask were there only 58 Democrats in Congress back then?

Between 2007 and 2009, there were three attempts to recall the REAL ID Act of 2005 were attempted but all failed.

In 2021, the REAL ID Modernization Act was passed. This act revised the REAL ID Act of 2005. The revision followed the normal procedures and was passed by both House & Senate in 2021. This ended the idea of the ‘illegitimacy’ of the REAL ID Act of 2025 for with the revision, the entire act was reaffirmed. The President then signed it into law. This act removed the requirement that states keep the documentation you provide verifying your Social Security Number (SSN). However, states MAY require you to show a document that matches your name to your SSN.

The REAL ID Act of 2005 standardizes the information each state collects; forces states to create a database of all driver’s licenses and state ID cards they issue; forces states to make their database available to ALL other states; sets rules for providing non-citizens REAL IDs, and gives maximum limits on expiration dates of driver’s licenses and/or state IDs.

Image from Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles

What is the minimum information is required by the REAL ID Act of 2005 for a REAL ID?

A photo ID or an ID that has your full legal name and date of birth.
A document that shows your date of birth.
Your SSN or a document that says you are not eligible for an SSN (IF your state requires it).
One or more documents that show your name and principal address.
Your sex (MALE or FEMALE).
Your current driver’s license or state ID card.
Your signature.
Evidence of citizenship.