With Real ID set to take effect this Wednesday, New Hampshire officials said they have heard from some residents who say the state's new driver's license design is not being verified by the Transportation Security Administration's credential authentication system at airport security checkpoints.
New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles representatives said they have contacted the vendor that produced the new design, who said the issue was related to the TSA's identification scanning system and not related to the IDs themselves.
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WATCH HERE“Everyone who has received the new design should rest assured that their identification is valid, REAL ID compliant, and was thoroughly reviewed and approved by a variety of stakeholders, including the Department of Homeland Security, before it was finalized and went into production,” New Hampshire DMV Director John Marasco said. “The leadership team at the DMV, along with representatives from our license design vendor, will remain in close contact with the TSA until this issue is resolved.”
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SIGN UP New Hampshire's new license look was rolled out in late January, and some recipients of the newer design have reported being delayed at security checkpoints while their identification is manually reviewed.
“TSA has alternate measures in place for situations where the Credential Authentication Technology system is unable to validate an ID as well as the ability to verify the identity of those passengers who do not have their ID,” TSA New England Region spokesperson Daniel Velez said.
The TSA said it anticipates New Hampshire’s new design to be fully integrated into its system nationwide soon, though they did not specify an exact date.
The New Hampshire issue comes just days after Maine officials asked for a phased-in approach of Real ID in their state due to concerns about how few residents have obtained Real ID compliant driver's licenses or state identification.
The Secretary of State and members of the Maine Legislature sent a letter to the TSA and Department of Homeland Security formally requesting a phased-in approach to the implementation of the Real ID Act.
As of April 1, Maine officials said just over 27% of Mainers had a Real ID compliant driver’s license or state ID. While there has been an increase in the number of applications for Real IDs since then, recent estimates show that fewer than 50% of travelers at the Portland Jetport had compliant IDs.
Given those numbers, state officials said it’s possible that the number of passengers at the Portland Jetport requiring secondary screening may be beyond the TSA's capacity to process, potentially resulting in missed flights and congestion at security checkpoints.
Maine officials are asking the TSA to issue warnings rather than bar Mainers from flying.
“As we enter into the busy tourist season, the traffic at Maine airports will only increase, adding additional pressure and burden on airport security,” said Tim Nangle, Senate chair of the Transportation Committee. “We urge DHS and the TSA to consider phasing in compliance by giving Mainers who do not have a Real ID, passport, military ID, or EAD a warning but let them still fly. We want to make sure Mainers are able to get where they need to go.”
“The TSA has said that while passengers may be permitted to fly without a compliant ID, they would be required to go through a secondary screening,” added state Rep. Lydia Crafts, House chair of the Transportation Committee. “Anyone who has flown from any of the airports in Maine, including the Portland Jetport, knows that the areas for security screenings are limited compared to larger, more urban airports. We are concerned that the anticipated volume of extra screenings may overwhelm TSA’s capabilities, causing concern for both safety and traveler inconvenience.”
In Massachusetts, Boston Logan International Airport officials have already begun asking travelers for Real IDs to get ahead of Wednesday's deadline. They said they remain confident wait time won't be affected, as nearly 90% of Logan travelers have been presenting Real IDs.
They said anyone without Real IDs or an alternate Real ID equivalent will be pulled out of line, with the TSA giving non-Real ID compliant cards to people. Additional screening will be required for those without one, and that time could vary between 5-20 minutes.
Logan officials are recommending that anyone without a Real ID get to the airport between 30 minutes to an hour earlier than usual.
