HARRISBURG – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced a REAL ID enforcement grace period through July 10, which means that Pennsylvania residents will not face access issues when entering federal facilities through that date.
This grace period goes into effect June 7, and applies to states, including Pennsylvania, currently under compliance extensions set to expire June 6.
Other states with June 6 extension expirations include Oregon, Washington, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Virginia, Alaska and South Carolina.
Within hours of Gov. Tom Wolf signing SB 133 (Act 3 of 2017) on May 26, which repealed previous REAL ID non-participation legislation and allows the commonwealth to provide REAL ID-compliant driver licenses and identification cards at the customer’s option, PennDOT submitted an extension request to DHS and is currently awaiting DHS response.
DHS has confirmed that REAL ID extension decisions are pending final review, and federal agencies have been advised to continue accepting driver licenses and identification cards through the grace period.
The enforcement grace period applies only to entrance to federal facilities. There is no enforcement on commercial air travel until Jan. 22, 2018.
Preliminary work on REAL ID has begun, and PennDOT estimates REAL ID-compliant driver licenses and identification cards will be available at the customer’s option in 2019.
This will allow ample time for customers who want a REAL ID product to get one before the final DHS effective date of Oct. 1, 2020.
For additional information, visit www.dmv.pa.gov. Information about REAL ID enforcement can be found here.
