Reply(1) WASHINGTON — U.S. residents now have an additional 19 months to get a REAL ID card. Previously the deadline for air travelers to have a REAL ID-compliant form of identification had been Oct. 1, 2021. Now, that deadline has been postponed until May 3, 2023, for Washington and all other states. The Department of Homeland Security said the new delay is due to the pandemic, which is making it harder for people to get into state motor vehicle departments and get the new IDs. Fewer than half of Americans have obtained their REAL ID. Subscribe The REAL ID Act was passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to establish minimum security standards for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards. The Department of Homeland Security initially postponed the enforcement date for REAL ID from Oct. 1, 2020, to Oct. 1, 2021, in response to COVID-19.