PA Gets Extension On ID Law That Would Make Licenses Not Valid For Air Travel

Pennsylvania leaders announced Thursday the state has been granted a four-month extension from the Department of Homeland Security to get into compliance with REAL ID. If the state doesn't act quickly, Pennsylvania licenses will not be valid forms of identification for air travel by January 2018.

Pennsylvania is currently one of five states not in compliance with REAL ID, federal ID requirements passed in 2005. The state was inching close to another deadline connected to noncompliance: If the extension wasn't granted, a Pennsylvania license would not have been valid identification for entering a federal facility as of Jan. 30.

But it could get serious next year for all local residents if state lawmakers don't make good on their promise to get into compliance. Pennsylvania licenses will not be valid forms of identification for air travel by Jan. 22, 2018, if REAL ID requirements are not met.

The state's current extension goes through June 5, 2017, and was granted after Gov. Tom Wolf and lawmakers wrote to the Department of Homeland Security. Additional extensions may be granted once the Pennsylvania can commit to meeting all REAL ID requirements, Wolf's office said.

In a statement, Wolf said the extension will allow his administration to work with the General Assembly and resolve Pennsylvania’s non-compliance during the current legislative session.

“My administration will continue to work with the General Assembly and the federal government to come into compliance and ensure we can resolve this in an efficient and timely manner before residents face any additional challenges," Wolf said in a statement.

In the letter to Homeland Security, Pennsylvania leaders say they are assessing the most cost-effective ways to implement the REAL ID requirements. Pennsylvania lawmakers say they are crafting legislation that would repeal Act 38 of 2012, which currently prevents the state from participating in REAL ID.

REAL ID establishes minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards and prohibits federal agencies from accepting for official purposes licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet these standards, according to the Department of Homeland Security.