Get Your REAL ID Ready

Before heading to the airport this summer, be sure to have a REAL ID or other federally issued identification, which is now required for domestic flights.

As of May 7, the Transportation Security Administration requires domestic airline travelers age 18 and older to show a federally recognized ID to get through security and board a flight. A Maine REAL ID driver’s license or REAL ID state identification card meets the requirement.

Maine REAL IDs have a gold state of Maine with a white star on them. If your ID says “not intended for federal purposes,” it does not meet the new mandate.

Passports, passport cards or military IDs, which are all federally issued, do meet the requirement.

AARP Maine is teaming up with Maine’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Department of the Secretary of State to get the word out, so older residents don’t face problems at the airport.

“Living next to Canada, we know many Mainers have passports or passport cards that meet TSA’s new requirements,” says Chris Ireland, director of Driver License Services for Maine BMV. “But we also know that not everyone routinely carries their passport for domestic flights.”

Ireland says the BMV is seeing many Mainers electing to get a REAL ID, as well as a passport.

“The last thing anyone wants is to be stuck out of state when you really need to get home,” Ireland says. “A REAL ID in your pocket can help keep options open for you.”

To get a REAL ID, you can visit one of the BMV’s 13 locations in person. To schedule an appointment and find out what documents you will need, visit maine.gov/sos/bmv/licenses/realid.html.

Ireland says it takes about four weeks to process and mail a new ID. Due to high customer demand, the BMV is currently encouraging Mainers to start the process no earlier than 60 days prior to their scheduled travel date.

For questions, call the BMV at 207-624-9000 (ext. 52114). You can also find more information at states.aarp.org/maine/real-id.

—Michelle Cerulli McAdams