By: Steven M. Williams and Carl L. Engel

This past weekend, Governor Wolf’s office announced it was notified by the United States Department of Homeland Security that Pennsylvania residents can use their driver’s licenses to board domestic flights and enter federal facilities until August 1, 2019. This announcement resolves the confusion that ensued when the DHS extended the deadline for Pennsylvania to issue drivers licenses compliant with the REAL ID Act until October 1, 2020, but did not clarify whether state drivers licenses could still be used to board domestic flights or enter federal facilities before that date.

REAL ID drivers’ licenses and identification cards will become available to Pennsylvania residents in March 2019. Residents, therefore, will have five months from that time to obtain a REAL ID compliant driver’s license before the new deadline expires. Residents who do not obtain a compliant driver’s license before the August deadline will need a US Passport or other compliant federal ID to board domestic flights and to enter federal facilities after that date.