WATCH: What to know about REAL ID and when you'll need it - PBS NewsHour

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Born in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, REAL IDs are now here. On May 7, 2025, to board a domestic flight in the United States, access certain federal facilities, or enter a nuclear power plant with a state-issued ID, it will need to be a REAL ID.

Why REAL ID? After the attacks of 9/11, acting on a recommendation from the 9/11 Commission, Congress passed the REAL ID Act into law. That set a federal standard for state-issued identification cards. But, privacy concerns, states-rights issues, funding for new equipment and the COVID-19 pandemic, pushed the deadline to comply back from 2008, to now.

So, what is REAL ID, how is it different from our 'old' identification cards, and do you really need one?

PBS News' Tim McPhillips spoke to Ravi Sarathy, professor of International Business and Strategy at Northeastern University, to break it down. - Aired on 04/09/2025.