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Which U.S. states and territories are currently REAL ID compliant as of 2025?
Executive summary
As of the May 7, 2025 enforcement date, federal agencies and TSA require REAL ID–compliant identification to board domestic flights and enter certain federal facilities, and official sources indicate that every U.S. state and territory has been certified or is issuing REAL ID-compliant credentials (for example, DHS and reporting summarized by Wikipedia and travel guides) [1] [2]. Individual state DMVs continue to note that residents may still hold non‑REAL ID versions of cards and must upgrade or use alternate federally accepted ID (passport, passport card) to fly if they don’t have a compliant credential [3] [4].
1. What “REAL ID compliant” means and why May 7, 2025 mattered
REAL ID is a federal standard for driver’s licenses and ID cards that sets security and document-verification requirements; DHS and TSA enforcement of REAL ID became operational on a phased schedule that included a key enforcement date of May 7, 2025 when use of compliant IDs for domestic flights and access to certain federal sites was emphasized [5] [1].
2. All states and territories: the broad headline and how sources reach it
Multiple overviews and timelines in the provided material state that, after many extensions and certifications, all U.S. states were certified compliant by around 2020 and territories followed by 2024, so that by the 2025 enforcement period jurisdictions were able to issue REAL ID‑compliant credentials [1] [6] [2]. These summaries form the basis for the frequent newsline “all states are issuing compliant IDs” [2].
3. A key nuance: “Issuing compliant IDs” versus every resident being compliant
Government and state sites clarify a critical distinction: jurisdictions can issue REAL ID‑compliant cards, but individuals must apply and meet document requirements to receive one. Many states continue to issue a non‑REAL ID option and permit residents to keep non‑compliant cards unless they choose to upgrade — meaning a state’s compliance status does not mean every resident already holds a REAL ID credential [7] [4] [8].
4. Where to verify your status: official interactive tools and state DMVs
TSA and DHS provide state-by-state information and interactive tools to check REAL ID readiness and link to local DMVs; TSA’s public guidance explicitly directs users to click their state or territory on its map and says travelers “must have a REAL ID or another acceptable form of identification” to board domestic flights starting in May 2025 [5]. State DMV pages (e.g., Washington, Michigan, Rhode Island, Massachusetts) mirror that guidance and explain local procedures for obtaining a REAL ID [3] [4] [9] [8].
5. Common exceptions and acceptable alternatives
Even after enforcement began, federal guidance and state pages note that alternate federally accepted documents — primarily a valid U.S. passport or passport card (and other TSA‑acceptable IDs) — remain valid for boarding and facility access, so a resident without a REAL ID can still travel if they possess those alternatives [2] [9].
6. Reporting disagreement, limits, and what the sources don’t say
The provided sources uniformly report the broad outcome that jurisdictions can issue REAL ID credentials and point to the May 7, 2025 enforcement milestone [1] [5] [2]. Available sources do not mention a definitive, itemized list in this dataset naming every individual state and territory with the precise date of DHS certification in 2025; instead, they rely on aggregate statements and state‑level DMV pages to show implementation [1] [3]. If you need a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction table showing the DHS certification date for each state/territory, that specific compilation is not present in the current reporting you provided (p1_s5 is an archived DHS status page but the set here does not contain an up‑to‑date per‑jurisdiction table).
7. Practical takeaway and recommended next steps
For confirming whether your particular state or territory has issued REAL ID cards (and whether your current card is compliant), click the TSA/DHS interactive map or visit your state DMV page — state pages explicitly explain what to bring to upgrade and note whether enhanced IDs are automatically compliant (e.g., Michigan, Washington) [5] [4] [3]. If you plan to fly domestically and do not yet have a REAL ID, prepare a passport or check your DMV’s upgrade process well ahead of travel [2] [8].
Limitations: this analysis uses only the provided documents; while those documents consistently indicate that states and territories can issue REAL ID credentials and that enforcement intensified in May 2025, a single exhaustive DHS list with each jurisdiction’s certification date was not included among the search results supplied here [1] [10].