The federal government may soon stop accepting state-issued IDs from six different states as a way to gain access to federal facilities or board commercial airliners. So if you live in Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, Washington, Minnesota, or California, you might need to bring another form of ID to the airport in 2016.

The regulations come from a law passed in 2005 called the Real ID Act, which requires states to meet a specific list of requirements to ensure the legal residency of applicants before they issue identification cards. The law was passed in response to recommendations from the 9/11 Commission, as 19 of the hijackers in those attacks used state-issued IDs to board planes. The regulations have gone unenforced until now.

Most states already meet the standards of the Real ID Act, or have made enough progress that the Department of Homeland Security granted them an extension until October 2016 or later. But the six states listed above have not been granted an extension yet. According to the DHS list of compliant and noncompliant states, updated this morning, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, and Washington have not received an extension and will be subject to enforcement on January 10. Minnesota is already listed as noncompliant. California is currently under review for an extension that would allow residents to continue using their drivers' licenses to enter federal facilities beyond Jan 10. The U.S. territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa also have not been issued an extension for 2016, though some are under review.

If these states do not receive an extension—and it's unlikely that any besides California will—then the IDs and drivers' licenses they issue will not be accepted for access to federal facilities such as military bases and nuclear power plants. It is also possible that IDs from these states and territories will not be accepted by the TSA, though the federal government must give states at least 120 days' notice before restricting air travel, and no states have been issued a notice of warning yet. Regardless, the TSA is taking steps to prepare for a security screening process where some state IDs are not accepted.

The Real ID Act requires that applicants provide documents such as Social Security cards and immigration papers to prove their identity before a state can issue them an ID card. It also requires that identification cards have "machine readable" technology in the form of a magnetic strip or chip that can store personal information and be used to share data electronically with other states or federal authorities. The regulations were originally slated to take effect in 2008, but the act was subjected to a number of delays. The DHS has warned states that these delays are over and enforcement will begin in 2016. The increased interest in enforcing Real ID follows the violent attacks in Paris and California, which have led to heightened concerns about terrorism.

Some states like Missouri and Minnesota are actively opposing the Real ID Act as a violation of state's rights. Politicians in these two states passed legislation in 2009 prohibiting the implementation of Real ID. Opponents of the act cite privacy concerns, arguing that the regulations amount to a national ID card, or they oppose it because the federal government does not provide any funds for states to implement the changes.

Bottom line: If you live in one of those states, then you will likely need a form of identification other than your state driver's license, such as a passport, to enter federal facilities come Jan 10, and you might need your passport to board domestic flights as soon as May or June.

Source: Department of Homeland Security via Ars Technica

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