(Radio Iowa) – Federal officials are again pushing back the deadline for when travelers from Iowa and elsewhere need that little gold star on their I-D cards to board domestic flights. Jessica Mayle, regional spokeswoman for the U-S Transportation Security Administration, says the so-called Real I-D won’t be required now until 2025. While she suspects some travelers will put off the process, Mayle tells KCRG-TV there’s more involved in getting the I-D than just renewing your last driver’s license.

“Maybe look at when your ID is already expiring,” Mayle says, “and maybe when you already had to do this project of getting your ID renewed, go online, do the research, what do I need to do to get that elevated REAL ID versus just renewing my driver’s license as it is now.” The list of documents that might be required during the process includes a passport, marriage certificate, bank statement and a Social Security card. Not only does the two-year extension give residents the opportunity to better prepare, but it’s also being used to help driver’s license stations across the country.
Kayla Burkett is the product integration coordinator at the Iowa D-O-T.

SAMPLE of a “Real ID” w/the required gold star

“Many state drivers license agencies are still addressing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Burkett says. “That’s also why the deadline has been pushed back previously.” Nearly two-thirds of Iowans have already gotten their Real I-D as Burkett says the tally for the state is now at 64-percent. In the next two years, she says the Department of Homeland Security wants to make it a simpler process for those who still need to get theirs.

“They will use this time to implement some process improvements or ways that we can more efficiently accept or identify Real ID documents and things like that,” Burkett says. The program was designed in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, and was originally scheduled to go into practice in 2008, but has been repeatedly delayed.