REAL ID Act

The REAL ID Act is a cooperative effort between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. states and territories. It sets federal standards for the issuance of driver’s licenses and other forms of identification.

Once fully implemented, the REAL ID Act will make it difficult or impossible for terrorists and other criminals to forge identity documents and gain unlawful access to federally-regulated commercial aircraft, nuclear power plants, and certain federal facilities.

Starting May 7, 2025, travellers must present a valid REAL ID driver’s license or ID card (or a TSA-approved alternate document) to board any commercial flight in the United States. On this page, you can find information about REAL ID per state.

What you need to know:

Compliant states meet all REAL ID criteria for documentation of identity, security features of cards, and control of facilities that store and issue licenses and ID cards.
All enhanced driver’s licenses and ID cards are REAL ID-compliant

The types of REAL ID symbols currently in circulation:

Gold star

Black star

Star cutout in gold circle

Star cutout in black circle

Star cutout in gold grizzly bear

Gold outline of the state Maine

Star cutout in the state Nevada

Star cutout of the state Michigan

States are grouped in alphabetical order by name, and U.S. territories are grouped together. Simply click on the corresponding grouping below to jump to the state (or territory) you are interested in.

U.S. States A-H

Alabama

Issued starting:2013
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“Not for Federal Identification” (if issued on or after 04/25/22)

Alaska

Issued starting:2019
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:"FEDERAL LIMITS APPLY"

Arizona

Issued starting:2016
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION” (if issued before 07/09/18) “NOT FOR FEDERAL ID” (if issued 07/09/18 to March 2023) “NOT VALID FOR OFFICIAL FEDERAL PURPOSES” (if issued March 2023 or later)
Digital ID/DL:Yes - https://azdot.gov/

Arkansas

Issued starting:2016
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION” (if issued before 07/09/18) “NOT FOR FEDERAL ID” (if issued on or after 07/09/18)

California

Issued starting:2018
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“FEDERAL LIMITS APPLY”

Colorado

Issued starting:2013
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT VALID FOR FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION, VOTING OR PUBLIC BENEFIT PURPOSES”
Digital ID/DL:Yes - https://dmv.colorado.gov/

Connecticut

Issued starting:2011
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“Not for Federal Identification”

Delaware

Issued starting:2010
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION” (If issued before 06/04/18) “NOT FOR FEDERAL ID” (If issued on or after 06/04/18)
Digital ID/DL:Yes - https://www.dmv.de.gov/

District of Columbia

Issued starting:2014
REAL ID symbol:
Standard cards:“NOT VALID FOR OFFICIAL FEDERAL PURPOSES”

Florida

Issued starting:2019
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION”
Digital ID/DL:https://www.flhsmv.gov/floridasmartid/

Georgia

Issued starting:2012
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:No indicator
Digital ID/DL:Yes

Hawaii

Issued starting:2018
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT ACCEPTABLE FOR OFFICIAL FEDERAL PURPOSES”
Digital ID/DL:https://www8.honolulu.gov/csd/vehicle/

U.S. States I-M

Idaho

Issued starting:2018
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“Not For REAL ID Purposes” (if issued before 04/12/23) “NOT ACCEPTABLE FOR REAL ID OFFICIAL PURPOSES” (if issued on or after 04/12/23)

Illinois

Issued starting:2019
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“Federal Limits Apply”

Indiana

Issued starting:2010
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:No indicator (if issued before 05/20/19) “NOT FOR REAL ID PURPOSES” (if issued on or after 05/20/19)

Iowa

Issued starting:2013
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:No indicator
Digital ID/DL:https://iowadot.gov/driversvehicles

Kansas

Issued starting:2017
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL ID”

Kentucky

Issued starting:2019
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR REAL ID PURPOSES”

Louisiana

Issued starting:2016
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION”
Digital ID/DL:Yes - https://www.expresslane.org/

Maine

Issued starting:2019
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR REAL ID PURPOSES” (before October 2019) or “NOT INTENDED FOR FEDERAL PURPOSES” (starting October 2019)

Maryland

Issued starting:2016
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION”
Digital ID/DL:https://mva.maryland.gov/Pages/MDMobileID_Apple.aspx

Massachusetts

Issued starting:2018
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL ID”

Michigan

Issued starting:2011
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION”

Minnesota

Issued starting:2019
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION”

Mississippi

Issued starting:2018
REAL ID symbol:
Digital ID/DL:https://www.driverservicebureau.dps.ms.gov/mobile-id/

Missouri

Issued starting:2019
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR REAL ID PURPOSES”
Digital ID/DL:Yes

Montana

Issued starting:2019
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION”

U.S. States N-R

Nebraska

Issued starting:2013
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:None will be issued

Nevada

Issued starting:2014
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL OFFICIAL USE” (if issued before August 2021) “NOT FOR REAL ID PURPOSES” (if issued starting 2021)

New Hampshire

Issued starting:2017
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOR FOR FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION”

New Jersey

Issued starting:2019
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:NOT FOR “REAL ID” PURPOSES

New Mexico

Issued starting:2016
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL PURPOSES” (if issued before 2019) “NOT INTENDED FOR FEDERAL PURPOSES” (if issued starting 2019)
Digital ID/DL:: https://www.mvd.newmexico.gov/nm-drivers-licenses-ids/new-mexico-mobile-id/

New York

Issued starting:2017
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL PURPOSES”
Digital ID/DL:https://dmv.ny.gov/id-card/mobile-id-mid

North Carolina

Issued starting:2017
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION” (if issued before 06/01/24) “NOT FOR FEDERAL PURPOSES” (if issued on or after 06/01/24)

North Dakota

Issued starting:2018
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION” (if issued before 08/02/23) “NOT ACCEPTABLE FOR REAL ID OFFICIAL PURPOSES” (if issued on or after 08/02/23)

Ohio

Issued starting:2018
REAL ID symbol:
Standard:“NOT FOR FEDERAL ID” Note: Prior versions of Ohio credentials may have a gold star but are not REAL ID-compliant.
Digital ID/DL:https://www.bmv.ohio.gov