Massachusetts officials do not expect travelers without Real IDs to face a "hard stop" immediately once enforcement of the enhanced identification requirements take effect in May, the head of the Registry of Motor Vehicles told lawmakers Monday.
Registrar of Motor Vehicles Colleen Ogilvie said the federal Transportation Security Administration published a final rule shortly before President Donald Trump took office that could implement a "phased enforcement" of Real ID requirements.
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"That program went through, but then we had a change in leadership at the federal government level. We're awaiting guidance and information on the policy on phased enforcement," Ogilvie said at a state budget hearing. "An agency would have to apply with a plan to the federal government to qualify for phased enforcement."
She added, "What we've heard from our Transportation Security Administration partners over the last several months is that they would not do any hard stop of somebody that didn't have a Real ID government-issued document upon travel on May 7, that they would ask people for additional identification, hand them a flyer and say, 'You really need to look into, if you don't have an active U.S. passport, to potentially get one of these if you're qualified.' So we don't think there's going to be a hard stop, and we also do not think the [enforcement] date is going to expand."
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Starting May 7, driver's licenses and identification cards that are not Real ID-compliant will no longer be accepted for domestic air travel or for entering federal buildings and nuclear power plants. Those without a compliant ID will instead need to present an alternative such as a passport or passport card.
About 57% of eligible Massachusetts residents have acquired a Real ID, a rate that Ogilvie previously said lags most other states.
She attributed some of the lackluster takeup to the fact that the federal government has extended the rollout several times. Ogilvie recalled that the original checklist for Real ID compliance came out in 2005.
Rep. Todd Smola of Warren told Ogilvie he's worried that more than four in 10 Bay Staters still do not have Real IDs five weeks from the enforcement deadline.
"I can envision all of my colleagues up here getting the telephone calls from constituents who can't get on planes and who can't meet the requirements to get into a federal building of Real ID," he said.
