(NewsNation) — Starting Wednesday, people in the U.S. will be required by law to have a REAL ID in order to board a domestic flight at the airport.
The deadline has created long lines at different DMV facilities across the country, with the REAL ID Supercenter in Chicago having a long line wrapped around the building Monday morning. Some people waiting in line told NewsNation they were waiting for several hours.
One person in line said he had been waiting nearly three hours to get into the Supercenter but expected the delays because of news reports he’s seen. He said he was getting the ID now because he has a flight to take in late June.
The REAL ID enforcement is underway after Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005, which requires driver’s licenses and identification cards issued by every state to meet certain security standards. Before the bill was signed, states had different requirements.
Long lines at DMV facilities have been seen nationwide, with people in the South reportedly fainting while waiting in line due to the heat. For others in the Midwest, the process to get a REAL ID before the Wednesday deadline was made difficult because of a scam asking people to purchase the ID online before May 7.
The Better Business Bureau said if you still need to get your REAL ID, you can find more information about it online, and you should go visit your local DMV to set things up, as a legitimate government agency will not contact you with a phone call or text message urging immediate action.
If you do not have a domestic flight within the next week, you can always wait to get the REAL ID. There are also other acceptable forms of identification you can use in order to board a flight, like a valid U.S. passport. If you have a passport, you do not need a REAL ID.
The Transportation Security Administration says it will be lenient in the airports if people do not have enough time to get their ID ahead of an upcoming flight. The TSA advises people who don’t have it to bring multiple forms of identification to make up for it.