CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Your ID will now have to contain a gold circle with a star inside if you’re planning to fly anywhere after the next 70 days.

West Virginia International Yeager Airport partnered with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the West Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Tuesday to host a press conference explaining the importance for people to get their REAL ID-compliant driver’s license.

West Virginians will need a REAL ID if they plan to board an airplane for a domestic flight, or they will need another form of approved identification, such as a passport.

REAL ID-compliant driver’s license

The REAL ID deadline goes into effect starting May 7, 2025.

TSA Spokesperson at Yeager Airport Lisa Farbstein said this new program is an effort to amplify airport security and ensure everyone is who they say they are.

“In a nutshell, when you use your diver’s license or another acceptable form of ID, an alternative form that is acceptable to be considered REAL ID-compliant, then we know who you say you are and it meets the REAL ID standards for enhanced security for forms of identification,” Farbstein said.

West Virginia DMV Commissioner Everett Frazier encourages everyone to plan to get their REAL ID soon if they’re planning on boarding a flight this year.

“I myself and Governor Morrisey, we want to ensure that every West Virginian has what they need to travel,” Frazier said.

To get your REAL ID, you will need to go to your local DMV office and bring several documents, including one proof of identity such as a passport or U.S. birth certificate, proof of legal presence for non-U.S. citizens, two proofs of West Virginia residency, your social security card, and a current driver’s license.

Farbstein said this is a security measure that has been 20 years in the making.

“The whole point is we want to know who you are, who you say you are, because we want to know who is boarding the planes,” she said. “This goes all the way back to September 11, 2001 when the 19 terrorists who hi-jacked the planes, everyone of them used a fraudulent ID.”

The 19 terrorists on 9/11 hi-jacked the planes, crashing into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and resulting in the loss of some 3,000 lives.

The president at the time, President George W. Bush called together a 9/11 Commission and they came out with a report looking into the failures of that day.

Farbstein said one of the recommendations that came out of that report was that the federal government and TSA should do everything they can to improve the security of identification documents that people bring to the airport.

Congress then approved the REAL ID Act of 2005, but after it was passed, Farbstein said some states needed more time to significantly get up to speed in putting those security enhancements in place.

She said it was originally supposed to go into effect in 2020, but was pushed back due to COVID-19.

The REAL ID-compliant driver’s license will have a gold star in the top right-hand corner of the card.

Farbstein said they are now trying to steadily phase-in this process and make it as simple as possible for people to acquire.

“Several people already have their REAL ID and it will be very simple to get through after May 7th, as long as you have the most secure form of ID, again being a REAL ID or an acceptable alternative ID such as a passport,” Farbstein said.

She said that phase-in process is still being considered and at this point, and TSA officials don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like.

Frazier said getting a REAL ID is not required, but you will not be able to board a domestic flight or access secure federal buildings, including military bases and some federal offices without it.

He said one may be saying to themselves that they don’t need it as they don’t plan to fly anywhere, that they have everything they need right here at home, but he encourages people to rethink that, because one never knows what could happen.

“Think of it as health insurance, you don’t need it, until you need it,” Frazier said. “So, if a doctor looks at you and says best course of treatment for you or a family member is somewhere on the West Coast, well, guess what, you’re going to drive it, you’re going to want to get there as soon as possible.”

Along with visiting their local DMV to obtain a REAL ID license, people can also go online to the DMV REAL ID HeadStart page to upload documents to streamline the licensing process.

“Here at CRW, our number one priority is safety and security of our passengers, and the REAL ID program is only going to improve that,” said Yeager Airport Director and CEO Dominque Ranieri.