AUGUSTA — Mainers preparing to fly south for a winter vacation or across the country on business may continue to do so using their Maine driver’s license for identification.
The federal Department of Homeland Security has given Maine more time to comply with the provision of the REAL ID Act, a 2005 federal law designed to improve security standards for state-issued identification.
The Homeland Security Department’s approval of an extension means that Maine drivers’ licenses will remain an accepted form of identification at airports and federal facilities.
According to a spokeswoman for the Maine Secretary of State’s office, a REAL ID-compliant form of identification will be required for those boarding domestic flights in January 2018.
SOS spokeswoman Kristen Muszynski said there is no legislation pending to address READ ID. She said Secretary of State Matt Dunlap is to brief the Legislature’s Transportation Committee on REAL ID next week.
The DHS is encouraging states to become compliant with REAL ID in the next few years, since extensions, such as the one Maine received that will remain in place until 2018, will no longer be granted after October 2020..
Maine has made some moves toward compliance, approving a bill in 2008 making proof of legal U.S. residency a requirement for getting a driver’s license, according to an Associated Press report. Previously, the state did not require any proof of residency in the state, legal or otherwise. Passage of the bill also requires that a Maine driver’s license issued to someone holding a visa must expire on the same day as the visa does.
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 327 .
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