(CNN) – The interim secretary of National Security, Chad Wolf, expressed concern on Wednesday that not all states would comply with the deadline of October 1 to issue REAL ID driver’s licenses to residents, and told lawmakers that they can request a legislative solution to help with the process.
The 50 states meet the security requirements of the REAL ID Act, but some are not yet issuing updated IDs, Wolf said at a hearing in the House Assignments Commission.
“The possibility that they can issue all their constituents a REAL ID by October 2020 is probably quite small,” he said, adding that “unfortunately” only about 35% of IDs in circulation are real IDs. “That is a relatively low number if we look towards October 2020,” he said.
As of this fall, Travelers will be required to have a REAL ID driver’s license, U.S. passport, U.S. military ID or other admissible identification to fly within U.S.
Oregon and Oklahoma, the two states that do not provide identification of this class, will begin issuing them soon, according to the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The acting secretary raised the possibility that the department would ask Congress for legislative relief from the law after September 11, 2001, which requires minimum security standards for licenses and prevents the federal government from accepting identifications that do not comply with them. Wolf said the law was “very prescriptive” and did not take into account future technological advances, such as smartphones.
Last week, the department announced that it would allow state agencies to accept identity documents online in an effort to accelerate the process of issuing REAL IDs.
Wolf said the department is taking steps to inform the public about the next change, including the publication of information at the airport and that TSA officials remind travelers about the change when they present an identification that is not compatible with the rule that will come into force.
REAL ID credentials are marked with a star on the top of the card.
“People who wish to fly commercially in October 2020 must have a real ID,” Wolf said.
Wolf stressed the deadline, reminding states that they have had 14 years to make the necessary changes. “We think it’s enough time,” he said.
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