Travel woes possible after feds deny Maine REAL ID extension
Mainers looking to travel aboard airlines could run into an additional hassle after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security denied an extension for state driver’s licenses and IDs to be compliant with the U.S. REAL ID law.
Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap told Maine Public that the Maine Legislature passed a law prohibiting the state from participating in the REAL ID Act due to privacy concerns, adding that residents need to know that restrictions won’t go into effect immediately.
“We’re working with our federal partners, our congressional delegation and with the Legislature and the governor’s office to sort of understand what our next steps should be,” Dunlap told Maine Public.
As it stands now, federal agencies will no longer officially accept the two forms of identification after Jan. 30, 2017, and that in January 2018, state driver’s licenses and IDs will no longer be an accepted form of identification to board commercial aircrafts.
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