Day 1 Dispatches: Real ID is Here … With Lax Enforcement (For Now)

Editor's note: On Day 1 of Real ID enforcement, our executive editor traveled across the country to see how it shakes out – and report on what travelers should watch for. 

Real ID is Finally Here … With Lax Enforcement – 6 p.m.

It was literally 20 years in the making, a constant cause for concern, and – for the last decade, anyway – the butt of all too many jokes after repeat extensions and delays. But Real ID is finally here … sort of, anyway. 

After traveling on Day 1 of Real ID, what struck me most was how little had changed. It was a monumental day … and yet it honestly felt and looked like any other normal day.

At the airports I traveled through and others I heard about from fellow travelers or saw on social media, there was barely a whisper of the backups and delays that travelers (myself included) feared as the federal government finally began enforcing these long-awaited ID requirements. And that might be because “enforcement” of Real ID is quite lax. 

While the TSA insists that some travelers without a Real ID (or an approved alternative like a passport card) could be subjected to additional screening, I got through security with my old school driver's license in four minutes with little more than a stern warning. I'm not alone: Red leaflets urging flyers to get a Real ID before their next trip were commonplace. 

What's clear now is that this was just the beginning. 

While May 7, 2025, was the most pressing date on the calendar, the date that may matter more is May 7, 2027. That's when, according to current federal rules, the TSA will be required to fully enforce Real ID at U.S. airports – and start turning away travelers without one.

Whether it happens next week, next month, or next year, the TSA will begin ramping up enforcement of Real ID sometime between now and then. So while it was surprisingly easygoing on Day 1, I wouldn't count on that going forward. It's time to get prepared. 

Get a Real ID next time your driver's license is up for renewal, if not sooner. Check out the list of approved alternatives and make a plan – whether that's sending in your passport to get a passport card or digging your Global Entry card out of a drawer.

Wednesday might not have been the disruptive, confusing, chaotic day many expected. But for once, we can now say it: Real ID is happening.

A Slick (But Risky) Real ID Workaround with CLEAR – 1 p.m.

In the run-up to the official start of Real ID enforcement, CLEAR® has been hammering my inbox with emails like “Get Real ID Ready with CLEAR” and “Your Passport is Real ID Compliant.” 

So with Day 1 of Real ID fast approaching, I finally pulled the trigger and added my passport to my CLEAR Plus account to test it out today.

Here's how it works: 

• The entire point of an (incredibly pricey – at least if you're not covering the cost with a top American Express card) CLEAR Plus membership is that it cuts you to the front of the airport security line by skipping the otherwise mandatory ID check with a TSA agent – CLEAR does that for you with facial recognition. 
• A passport is one of several approved alternatives to a Real ID license
• By adding a passport to your account, CLEAR has that on file for you – it's intertwined with your identity verification.

Voila: You're Real ID compliant when you go through CLEAR lanes, without even taking out your passport. It worked like a charm at the Denver (DEN) airport this morning before hitching a flight back to Minneapolis. 

But there's a big, big catch.

Occasionally (and lately, not so occasionally) CLEAR will flag you for a random ID check at the kiosk before letting you proceed through security. And that means you'll need that document in hand – you can't simply upload your passport to your account and leave it at home in a drawer. 

TSA Says Some Travelers Without Real ID Are Subject to Additional Screening – 10 a.m.

On paper, the long-awaited enforcement of Real ID began at U.S. airports Wednesday, as federal officials warned that travelers without an ID could held up and subjected to more strenuous screening. In practice, many travelers (including yours truly) waltzed through airport security checkpoints on Day 1 as normal with nothing more than a warning to get a new ID.

But the TSA insists that some travelers who don't present a Real ID – or an alternative like a passport or Global Entry card – were being subjected to “additional screening.”

“Some are experiencing additional screening as part of TSA’s unpredictable security screening methods and all should be receiving a warning – if they show up with a legacy ID,” an agency spokesman said in response to a request for comment.

TSA's website lays out what that process may entail, including:

• Being directed to a separate screening area
• Being asked additional questions to confirm your identity
• Additional screening methods

But so far, it's unclear how many passengers might be subjected to more stringent screening rather than being waved away with a warning. Federal officials have said that roughly 80% of Americans have a Real ID or acceptable alternative.

In the run-up to Wednesday's enforcement deadline, I wondered if anxious travelers rushed to sign up for services like TSA PreCheck or CLEAR® Plus. While travelers with PreCheck still need a Real ID, that $78 service (for a five-year membership) puts you in a faster-moving line, allowing you to keep your shoes and belt on and leave your liquids and electronics in a bag. 

A spokesman from the TSA said the agency did not see a noticeable uptick in PreCheck signups ahead of Wednesday's deadline. Representatives from CLEAR® did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Several Airports Are Lax About Real ID on Day 1 – 7:45 a.m. 

Even without a Real ID, I got through security at Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) in four minutes – not a whiff of the “additional delays” or “more thorough screening” the TSA indicated I'd be in for. And I'm not alone.

In New York City-LaGuardia (LGA), for instance, one traveler relayed an experience almost identical to the one I had in Minneapolis this morning: A warning to get a compliant ID before their next flight, with this exact same slip. But there was no additional screening required.
 

The same is true over in Los Angeles (LAX), it seems.

Again: These are just a few experiences. Other airports – or individual TSA agents – could be stricter, particularly over the coming days and weeks.

But a pattern is starting to emerge. Rather than turning unprepared travelers away or subjecting them to more scrutiny, the TSA is letting everyone through with little more than a warning in order to avoid any potential disruptions, long lines, or delays.

Which begs the question: If Real ID enforcement is truly underway, isn't that what the agency should have been doing for the last few months?
 

Going Through Security … Without a Real ID – 5:40 a.m.

As today's Real ID deadline approached, the TSA warned that travelers without a compliant ID “can expect to face delays, additional enhanced and more thorough screening and the possibility of not being permitted into the security checkpoint.”

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem just this week said that those travelers “may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step.” In Boston (BOS), WBZ News reported that passengers without a compliant ID “will be pulled out of line.”

Considering nearly 20% of Americans still don't have an ID that meets these stronger federal requirements – and countless more will forget them at home – I decided to test out what “delays” and “more thorough screening” might look like, leaving my Global Entry card in my backpack and handing over my old school driver's license. The result? 

I got through security in Minneapolis in less than four minutes (yes, I timed it) with little more than a slightly stern warning from an agent, who said: “This is going to get very complicated for you very soon, to the point where you might not be allowed to fly. So be sure you get one before your next flight.” 

He also handed over this red slip. 

I've got TSA PreCheck, and I had no problem using the PreCheck lane – despite a placard in the line warning travelers without a Real ID that “your TSA PreCheck privileges may be denied or be subject to additional security measures.” For me, nothing changed: It was another standard trip through security.

Now, this was just my experience. This doesn't mean travelers at other airports across the country will fare the same today – let alone tomorrow or next week. 

But as Real ID finally gets underway, my experience this morning certainly suggests the federal government is taking a light approach to enforcing these new requirements in order to avoid even the slightest hint of travel disruptions. 

The Calm Before the (Potential) Storm – 5 a.m.

Eerily, it's just another morning here at Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP).

There are no signs of long backups at either security checkpoint at the airport's busiest Terminal 1, a major Delta hub. In fact, there's barely a sign of this major hallmark moment in U.S. travel at all.

Aside from a small sign reminding travelers of the May 7 deadline to get a Real ID outside of just one of two security checkpoints, there was hardly any signage throughout the airport at all. 

Then again, it's a Wednesday – not exactly the busiest day at airports in the U.S. But for such a big day in travel, it's still strange there hasn't been anything close to a full-throated push to warn travelers this is happening.

For example, Delta never contacted me directly to warn that I'd need a Real ID for my flight today. There was one small notice buried at the bottom of a receipt after paying for an upgrade the other day. But there was no standalone email, nothing mentioned in one-week reminders or check-in alerts.

Other airlines, though, are doing much more. I've heard from a handful of fellow travelers that United has repeatedly advised them about this new requirement for upcoming flights, including text messages like this one. 

So it Begins – 4:30 a.m.

After nearly two decades of delays and extensions, it's finally happening Wednesday: Real ID requirements for domestic flights take effect today … kind of. 

While federal officials have repeatedly warned they will stop accepting non-compliant licenses as of today, May 7, the agency has also said that travelers without a Real ID “can expect to face delays, additional enhanced and more thorough screening.” Meanwhile, travelers anxious about disruptions have been struggling to get a new ID in their wallets. 

So I'm heading to the airport bright and early to fly across the country today and see how it shakes out firsthand. Even after years of preparation, there are more questions than answers about what this will look like for everyday travelers. 

How will the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) handle travelers who still don't have a Real ID or compliant alternative (like a passport or Global Entry card) on them? Will confusion about these new requirements lead to backups and delays at airport security queues across the country, no matter what kind of license you have?

Passed in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as a way to combat identity fraud, the Real ID Act was signed into law on May 11, 2005 – almost 20 years ago to the day. 

Now, it begins. Buckle up, travelers.