Minnesota REAL ID Deadline Now Quickly Approaching

If you're planning on flying domestically later this year and you don't yet have a REAL ID, you're quickly running out of time here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

The clock is ticking fast on the date you'll need a REAL ID not only here in Minnesota but across the country, and those without that enhanced ID, passport, or another federally approved form of ID may face travel disruptions once the requirement takes effect in just a few weeks.

We've been hearing about REAL IDs for a while now in the North Star State. Twenty years, to be exact. According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety - Driver and Vehicle Services (MDPS-DVS), the REAL ID Act was first passed by Congress in 2005, as a response to the September 11th terror attacks.

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The REAL ID Act set certain standards for states to issue driver's licenses and identification (ID) cards that federal agencies will accept, MDPS-DVS said.  And while the deadline had been extended numerous times -- the original deadline was back in 2008 -- this time, the new deadline is for real, Axios noted. (Or for REAL.) And while they've been available in the Gopher State since late 2018, only about 40 percent of Minnesotans currently have a REAL ID.

But time is running out, and the deadline for when you'll need a REAL ID is now just a little over a month away. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said May 7, 2025, is the date they will start enforcing the REAL ID Act, according to MDPS-DVS. This means that if you don't have a REAL ID as of May 7, 2025, you won't be able to board any domestic airline or go through security checkpoints at a U.S. airport, enter a U.S. military base, or enter federal buildings without an additional ID, like a passport.

You can tell if you already have a REAL ID by the gold circle and star in the upper right corner of your Minnesota driver's license.

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To obtain a Minnesota REAL ID, MDPS-DVS says you'll need the following things:

• One document that proves your full legal name, date of birth and legal presence (a passport works well.)
• Two different documents that show your current Minnesota residence address.
• Know your Social Security Number (SSN).

And here are the steps MDPS-DVS says you should take to start the process toward getting your REAL ID here in Minnesota:

• Start by filling out the pre-application information. (At the end of the pre-application, you can choose to have your documents reviewed before you visit an office.)
• Bring your documents to an office that takes REAL ID applications.
• Bring the appropriate fee.

A special note that while you can start filling out and uploading your pre-application information online, you *will* need to head to an MDPS-DVS office to actually apply for a REAL ID and complete the process.

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