California gets last-minute REAL ID extension

California narrowly averted a major crisis for travelers taking to the sky this year after the Department of Homeland Security granted it a last-minute extension to meet REAL ID requirements, despite the government shutdown.

If California hadn’t received the extension and homeland security hadn’t officially certified it met the REAL ID requirements, it would have forced the state’s residents to present a passport for all air travel beginning Jan. 22.

That’s a big change from the October 2020 deadline initially given for homeland security to begin enforcing the REAL ID requirements. At that time, passengers will have to present a REAL ID or passport to get on any commercial flight.

The deadline for California to comply was initially Thursday, Jan. 10, and the government shutdown showed no signs of ending before then. But, homeland security officials on Thursday extended it to April 1.

That means, people who braved lines of often six or more hours to apply for and receive their REAL ID would have had to carry a passport to fly and those who don’t have the IDs would have also needed to carry a passport. More than 2 million Californians have already received REAL IDs.

California’s REAL IDs were called into question in November after a DHS official told the DMV’s director, Jean Shimoto, the process it was using to verify applicants’ addresses was inadequate. The determination was a reversal by homeland security, which just a few months earlier told Shimoto the DMV’s procedure was acceptable, according to emails between the two agencies.

California had mimicked a process for verifying addresses used in Wisconsin, which has already been certified as compliant with REAL IDs. And, homeland security signed off on that procedure in June. But, then in November, said it wasn’t good enough.

In response to questions about why DHS changed its mind, a spokeswoman said the agency couldn’t comment until after the government reopens.

For now, though, airplane passengers can continue to use a state-issued driver’s license to fly.