United States | REAL ID travel requirements and other summer travel reminders

The State Department posted reminders for summer travel, including the REAL ID requirement at U.S. airports for domestic flights starting May 7, 2025.

Key Points:

• Beginning May 7, 2025, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will begin enforcing REAL ID requirements at domestic airport security checkpoints. Travelers should ensure they have a REAL ID or an acceptable alternative ahead of this deadline.
• Valid U.S. passport books and cards are one of several accepted alternatives to REAL ID and can be used for domestic air travel.
• Routine processing of U.S. passports takes four to six weeks and expedited processing takes two to three weeks, not including mailing times. Passports can be renewed online. In 2025, the State Department issues more than 500,000 passports for American citizens each week.
• The State Department recommends getting a passport book and a passport card. Only the book may be used for international air travel, but both documents serve as official forms of federal identification and proof of U.S. citizenship.
• The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) is a free service that allows Americans to enroll their trip abroad so they can be contacted quickly in case of an emergency and receive real-time email updates about health, weather, safety and security wherever they are traveling.
• U.S. citizens planning to go abroad should always consult travel advisories and country information at travel.state.gov.

Additional Information: A complete list of acceptable identification that are REAL ID compliant can be found here. TSA strongly encourages travelers to check this list again before traveling as it is subject to change without notice.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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