Real ID deadline arrived. Can you fly out of the Boise Airport without one?
Twenty years after the Real ID Act passed Congress, the hard deadline requiring the new driver’s licenses to fly finally arrived Wednesday.
Or did it?
Lawmakers enacted the 2005 law in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and set stricter security standards for state-issued licenses. Those new licenses have been dubbed Star Cards, noted by a star in the corner.
The date by which travelers would need that new type of license — or a passport if they lacked the Star Card — to fly domestically has repeatedly been extended, but it finally is in effect.
Except it really isn’t.
Fears of long airport lines and of having people turned away were unfounded, according to Lorie Dankers, regional Transportation Security Administration spokesperson.
Dankers told the Idaho Statesman that people without a Real ID are still allowed to fly for now.
“TSA will enforce Real ID and ensure there is no impact to wait times or TSA screening applications, especially for those passengers who are prepared with their Real ID, passport or other acceptable form of ID,” Dankers said in an email.
“Passengers who present a state-issued identification that is not Real ID compliant at TSA checkpoints and who do not have another acceptable alternative form of ID will be notified of their noncompliance, may be directed to a separate area and may receive additional screening.”
But they’ll still be allowed to fly.
The Idaho Statesman did not observe anyone being redirected to a separate area of the Boise Airport on Wednesday morning, or see any Real ID issues. People were moving through the Boise TSA security line at a quick pace.
“The rollout of Real ID at the Boise Airport went smoothly this morning,” Jennifer Kronberg, Boise Airport communications manager, told the Statesman. “Our partners at TSA and CLEAR were well prepared and did an excellent job. We encourage travelers who don’t have an Idaho Star Card to make a plan to get one before their next planned trip.”
Similar circumstances were noted at most airports across the country, with media reporting that those without a Real ID have faced little more than a scolding from TSA agents or a reminder to book an appointment soon to get a Star Card.
Idahoans line up to get Real ID
The Idaho Transportation Department told the Statesman that 876,098 Idahoans had obtained Star Cards as of Thursday, meaning well more than a third of state residents still hadn’t obtained one.
But ITD spokesperson Britt Rosenthal told the Statesman on Wednesday that more than 30,000 people have applied for a Star Card in the past two weeks.
“We’ve seen a really big surge,” Rosenthal said by phone. “A couple weeks ago, we had 55% of Idahoans who had a Real ID, and now we’re up to 57%.”
To accommodate the extra requests, ITD opened a temporary Star Card service station on April 24 at 11331 W. Chinden Blvd., Building 8, in Garden City.
Rosenthal said that when she got to work on Tuesday morning, eight people were lined up outside the temporary location, waiting for it to open.
“We were trying to take the pressure off the county offices, because we had noticed that not only were all the appointment times being filled, and so there was no availability for folks who are wanting to get their Star Cards, but just that influx of people in those offices was becoming a little too much to handle,” Rosenthal said.
The Garden City service station will continue taking walk-ins from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday and is considering extending it next week. This station accepts only debit or credit card payments.
Opinion editor Scott McIntosh contributed to this story.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 3:10 PM.
