Is Your Colorado ID "Real ID" Compliant?

The era of "Real IDs" has finally arrived.

Beginning on Wednesday, May 7, state driver's licenses and identification cards must be federally-compliant Real IDs to be used to board domestic flights and access certain federal facilities, including TSA airport security checkpoints, federal buildings, military installations and nuclear power plants.

This change is twenty years in the making. Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005, establishing federal security standards for state-issued IDs. It came at the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission in an attempt to enhance security for air travel.

Colorado has issued Real IDs to eligible residents since 2012. So unless your ID is very, very expired, it's probably compliant...and that's easy to check.

Is Your Colorado ID Compliant?

Look at the top right corner of your driver's license or state identification card. If there is a star, then you're good to go; your ID is "Real ID" compliant. A compliant card will either have a black circle with a star inside or a plain gold star, depending on when it was issued.

If there's no star, then your ID is not compliant.

To get a Real ID in Colorado, the Division of Motor Vehicles must verify your Social Security number, identity, lawful presence in the U.S. and Colorado residency. Your Colorado credential should already be Real ID compliant if you've renewed or been issued a Colorado ID in the last thirteen years and you are a U.S. citizen, permanently lawfully present, a citizen of Freely Associated States or a commercial driver's license holder.

For undocumented or temporarily legal residents, your Colorado driver's license or identification card is not Real ID compliant because you do not meet the federal qualifications. Those non-compliant cards do not have a star, and instead feature a black box with the text, “Not Valid for Federal Identification, Voting or Public Benefit Purposes."
Digital IDs on the myColorado app are not Real ID compliant and, therefore, do not have the star. 

If you don't have a Real ID-compliant state-issued ID, TSA currently accepts other forms of ID, including a passport, permanent resident card, border crossing card, photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation or a veteran health identification card.