Pandemic Puts Pause on Pennsylvania Real ID
State plans to resume issuing new federally mandated IDs in ‘late summer’
By Matt Neistein
Published June 29, 2020
Read Time: 2 mins
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the federal government to push back an Oct. 1, 2020, deadline for Real ID enforcement, few were surprised.
The aviation industry was almost universally concerned that travelers would not be able to secure the upgraded identification that would have been required to pass through airport security checkpoints by that date. Add in a global pandemic, and the one-year delay announced on March 26 was welcomed with relief.
However, the ensuing months-long closure of driver licensing centers in Pennsylvania has made getting a Real ID impossible. Even after the state Department of Transportation began reopening centers in early June, it did not resume issuing Real IDs.