Americans, born after Dec. 1, 1964, will have to get more secure driver’s licenses in the next six years under ambitious security rules. The Homeland Security Department has spent years crafting the final regulations for the REAL ID Act.
The American Civil Liberties Union has fiercely objected to the effort, particularly the sharing of personal data among agencies. In its written objection to the law, the ACLU claims REAL ID amounts to the “first-ever national identity card system,” which “would irreparably damage the fabric of American life.”
By 2014, anyone seeking to board an airplane or enter a federal building would have to present a REAL ID-complaint driver’s license, with the notable exception of those more than 50 years old.
How will I get one of these new ID cards?
You’ll still get one through your state motor vehicle agency, and it will likely take the place of your drivers’ license. But the identification process will be more rigorous.
For instance, you’ll need to bring a “photo identity document,” document your birth date and address, and show that your Social Security number is what you had claimed it to be. U.S. citizens will have to prove that status, and foreigners will have to show a valid visa.
State DMVs will have to verify that these identity documents are legitimate, digitize them and store them permanently. In addition, Social Security numbers must be verified with the Social Security Administration.
What’s going to be stored on this ID card?
At a minimum: name, birth date, sex, ID number, a digital photograph, address, and a “common machine-readable technology” that Homeland Security will decide on. The card must also sport “physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the document for fraudulent purposes.”
Homeland Security is permitted to add additional requirements–such as a fingerprint or retinal scan–on top of those. We won’t know for a while what these additional requirements will be.