PA Updating Motorist Driver Licenses, Preparing For REAL ID Deadline

PENNSYLVANIA — PennDOT is updating driver license and identification design and security features as the May 2023 deadline to obtain a federal REAL ID deadline looms.

All driver license and photo centers statewide will transition to the new products by mid-November. The new products will be phased in during renewal cycles and will replace existing products.

Both current and new card designs will be in circulation during the transition period.

"All of these measures are important enhancements to fight against fraudulent driver license or identification cards being produced or used," PennDOT's risk management director Brent Lawson said.

"Fraudulently obtaining and using a counterfeit product can have an adverse impact on highway safety and national security, so the need to deter and detect fraud is of paramount importance. These new security features make it more difficult to produce a fraudulent product."

Beginning in May, state residents will need a REAL ID-compliant driver's license, photo ID card, or another form of federally acceptable identification (such as a valid passport or military ID) to board a domestic commercial flight or enter a federal building or military installation that requires ID.

To date, PennDOT has issued approximately 1.8 million REAL ID products. The state has a population of more than 12 million.