What You Need to Know About the New Homeland Security-Approved Drivers Licenses Travel Families.com

What You Need to Know About the New Homeland Security-Approved Drivers Licenses

For starters the only people who will need to have new Homeland Security-approved drivers licenses are those U.S. residents who wish to use their ID to board an airplane or enter a federal building. If you were born after December 1, 1964 you have until December 1, 2014 to make the switch. Old drivers have until 2017 to get a new ID.

You are not being forced to get one. They are no rules that require states to issue the new identification cards to every resident, but if you don’t get one you will not be able to use your driver’s license as proof of identity at federal agencies or at airports.

The new IDs are part of the Real ID Act, which was passed in 2005. In it Congress directed Homeland Security to beef up nationwide standards for identification in an effort to make it harder for terrorists to slip past security checks, curb illegal immigration and reduce identity theft.

The rules prohibit states from issuing the new Homeland Security-approved license to illegal immigrants. In cases involving illegal immigrants, states may issue other forms of identification, but they will not be valid for federal security use.

So do the new rules mean you will be forced to stand in long lines at the DMV? If you want a new ID then the answer is yes. To comply with the new rules, states must design licenses that include embedded security features set by Homeland Security and digital photographs. Which means obtaining a new card requires taking a new picture and providing personal data, such as Social Security numbers and immigration status, which will be checked against federal databases to prevent fraudulent applicants.

Homeland Security estimates revamping drivers licenses nationwide will cost states $3.9 billion, though there’s no official word on whether the hefty price tag will be passed on to individuals applying for the new cards. As it stands now you will be charged the same amount of money for the new licenses as for a traditional one, but that could change in the next few months.