A Real ID reminder: As January approaches,Minnesota travelers are wondering whether their regular Minnesota driver's licenses will work at airport security checkpoints after we ring in the New Year. The short answer: yes. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is in the final stages of rolling out requirements for enhanced identification. Minnesota remains the only noncompliant state that has not received an official extension. (The territory of American Samoa is in the same boat.) Enforcement could begin in 2016 — but it will not begin Jan. 1.
Amanda DeGroff of DHS wrote in an e-mail that the department is "in the process of scheduling plans for implementing Real ID enforcement at the airports." The DHS will provide ample notice, of at least 120 days, before any changes are made that would affect travel.
Passports, a common and accepted form of identification, take up to six weeks to process, according to the State Department.
For now, "the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will continue to accept state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards from all states, as well other forms of acceptable identification listed on the TSA website," DeGroff's e-mail said.