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Kentucky requests another delay on REAL ID as deadline looms

WUKY | By Josh James

Published April 23, 2025 at 3:15 PM EDT

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FILE - A sign at the federal courthouse in Tacoma, Wash., is shown on April 6, 2016, to inform visitors of the federal government's REAL ID Act, which requires state driver's licenses and ID cards to have security enhancements and be issued to people who can prove they are legally in the United States. The deadline for obtaining the Real ID needed to board a domestic flight has been pushed back again, with the Department of Homeland Security citing the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for the slower-than-expected rollout. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Kentucky's Senate Transportation chair Jimmy Higdon and 27 colleagues have sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem requesting a formal delay of the REAL ID enforcement date.

The federal deadline for states to reach REAL ID compliance is currently May 7. But Kentucky lawmakers say the commonwealth isn't ready — and won't be — in part due to limited appointments and long lines.

Currently only 40 percent of Kentuckians have a REAL ID and Higdon says a recently passed state bill on the subject won't go into effect until June 27, leaving a gap of a month.

Higdon also says more Kentuckians need to be made aware that, depending on their travel and access needs, a REAL ID may not be necessary for everyone.

Regional REAL ID offices are open only one Saturday a month.

CBS News reports Kentucky is among at least 17 states that are below 50 percent compliance.