REAL ID Deadline Is On The Horizon: What You Need To Know In MI

MICHIGAN — The countdown is on for Michigan residents who haven’t gotten their REAL ID cards. After moving the deadline for getting the gold star required to board domestic flights and certain federal offices, Homeland Security officials set May 7, 2025, as the final date.

Individual states may have specific requirements to get a REAL ID card. At a minimum, applicants must provide documentation showing their full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, two proofs of address of the principal residence, and lawful status.

To get a REAL ID in Michigan you will need to visit a Secretary of State office with the following documents:

• Your current Michigan driver’s license or ID
• A valid, unexpired U.S. passport, birth certificate, or other proof of legal presence document
• A certified legal name-change document, if your name is different from what is on your birth certificate

There’s no added charge for converting to REAL ID in Michigan if you do so at the time of renewing or replacing your license or ID. Otherwise, there is a correction fee ($9 for license; $10 for ID) to convert to REAL ID.

In Michigan, you aren’t required to convert your license or ID to become REAL ID-compliant, but you will need to present a REAL ID document starting on May 7, 2025 when you:

• Board a domestic flight in the U.S.
• Enter a military base or nuclear power plant
• Visit certain federal buildings

COVID-19 backlogs in state agencies charged with issuing driver’s licenses and identification cards prompted the last REAL ID extension in late 2022. The original 2020 deadline to get REAL IDs had been extended multiple times because of the pandemic.

After May 7, 2025, federal agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration, will no longer accept identification that does not meet the new standards.

The REAL ID Act of 2005 was passed by Congress in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In addition to the stars, REAL ID cards are built with technology that makes them more difficult to forge, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Michigan residents who don’t plan to fly domestically or visit a federal office don’t need to do anything. A REAL ID isn't required to get a driver's license. Also, the TSA won’t require children under 18 to provide identification when they’re traveling with an adult companion within the United States, but the companion must have acceptable identification.

The REAL ID is not a substitute for a passport required for international travel, and it also does not affect the ability to vote or register to vote, applications for federal benefits, enter federal facilities that don’t require identification, obtain medical care, or participate in police proceedings or investigations.