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By Valerie S. Johnson
The 2005 REAL ID Act requires all states to standardize their driver’s licenses and identification cards. Each card must incorporate certain security features, such as a digital photograph and barcode. The 9/11 Commission endorsed the REAL ID requirements.
However, many states objected to the administrative burdens and costs of adopting these measures to make their licenses and cards comply by May 2008. That deadline has just been pushed back eighteen months, until December 31, 2009.
Is the REAL ID license a national ID card? The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says no, because the states -- not the federal government -- will continue to issue licenses, and no national database of driver information will be maintained.
What’s the real purpose? DHS says that “REAL ID is a nationwide effort intended to prevent terrorism, reduce fraud, and improve the reliability and accuracy of identification documents that State governments issue.” You can count on more bureaucracy and higher costs when you visit the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew your driver’s license.
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The 2005 REAL ID Act requires all states to standardize their driver’s licenses and identification cards. Each card must incorporate certain security features, such as a digital photograph and barcode. The 9/11 Commission endorsed the REAL ID requirements.
However, many states objected to the administrative burdens and costs of adopting these measures to make their licenses and cards comply by May 2008. That deadline has just been pushed back eighteen months, until December 31, 2009.
Is the REAL ID license a national ID card? The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says no, because the states -- not the federal government -- will continue to issue licenses, and no national database of driver information will be maintained.
What’s the real purpose? DHS says that “REAL ID is a nationwide effort intended to prevent terrorism, reduce fraud, and improve the reliability and accuracy of identification documents that State governments issue.” You can count on more bureaucracy and higher costs when you visit the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew your driver’s license.
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