REAL IDs needed real soon for flights, federal building entry
New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Secretary Stephanie Schardin Clarke demonstrates how to scan a digital driver's license at the New Mexico Sunport on Thursday, April 17, 2025. Officials will require passengers show driver's licenses, called REAL ID, that meet more stringent requirements starting on May 7. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM)
Following years of delays, federal and New Mexico officials say starting May 7 any adult wanting to catch a flight or enter certain federal buildings will need to show a driver's license that meets stricter standards.
REAL IDs, marked with a gold star in the card's top right corner, require proof of identity, age and residency to the state issuing the card. That often means using original documents such as a birth certificate, social security card and two proofs of address.
Passengers must present the actual physical card, or can use their digital REAL ID at some locations, including the Albuquerque Sunport and the Lea County Regional Airport.
The temporary paper ID issued from the state will not be accepted at the gates, J. Mark Heisey, the federal security director for the Transportation Security Administration, told Source NM Thursday.
If a driver's license doesn't meet the requirements, then people will need to use their passports, military-issued ID or other acceptable licenses to fly or enter federal buildings, he said.
The deadline for rolling out the requirements has been repeatedly pushed back since the federal law was first enacted in 2005 — but officials say this time, it's real.
'The Secretary of Homeland Security is committed to enforcing this law that's been in place since 2005,' Heisey said. 'So, we're finally at a tipping point.'
People who show up to the airport without a REAL ID driver's license will face delays at TSA checkpoints, he said.
'Even if you don't have plans to travel now, your plans can change, so prepare now, as far as what type of photo ID you'll plan to bring to the airport,' Heisey said.
About 80% of the driver's licenses issued in New Mexico are REAL IDs, said Stephanie Schardin Clarke, the Secretary of New Mexico Department of Taxation and Revenue, which oversees the state's licensing. That means about 370,000 New Mexicans don't have a REAL ID, and only have the standard driver's license.
'Not all of them either want or are eligible or need a real ID,' Schardin Clarke said. 'Some portion of those 20% might be planning to travel with a passport or other acceptable documentation; for example, some of them might not be eligible for reasons of documentation, and then some might just not plan to travel or enter a federal building.'
Schardin Clarke said that New Mexico state offices and private Motor Vehicle Division offices are prepared for additional appointments for REAL IDs. All state offices now require an appointment, which can be made online or scheduled over the phone at 1-888-683-3466.
The state also has a frequently asked questions page for the documentation required to get a REAL ID for the first time.
Htet Wint, the director of the Motor Vehicle Division, said the state does require anyone with a name change — from marriage, divorce, adoption, etc. — to bring in additional documents.
'We need all the linking documents,' Wint said. 'Like a marriage certificate, divorce decrees, court order, that ties them to that name.'
Physical cards take about two weeks to arrive in the mail. The mobile driver's license downloaded to a digital wallet in a phone will take 24 hours to update.
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