New driver's license needed as ID for air travel

SANDUSKY — If you use your driver's license as ID at the airport, you have less than a year to get an Ohio driver's license that meets upcoming federal requirements.Starting Oct. 1, 2020, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will no longer accept standard driver's licenses and identification cards as forms of identification for air travel for people 18 and older, according to a release from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's office.The state has been offering the new form of ID since July 2018, the release states. Since then, only 27 percent of people renewing their licenses, or getting a new one, have opted to get the federally-complaint version."We want to make sure Ohio travelers are aware of the upcoming change in the law and have ample time to get their federally compliant license or identification card if they need one," DeWine said.The change comes from the 2005 REAL ID Act, passed by congress following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, adding a number of security features to licenses in an effort to prevent identity theft and fraud.Aside from the federally-complaint driver's licenses, the TSA will also accept other forms of ID, like U.S. passports or a military ID. Ohioans can carry a standard license for purposes like driving and voting.People looking to get a new license can check bmv.ohio.gov for a list of accepted documents used to get a license. A list of documents, other than the new licenses, accepted by the TSA can be found at tsa.gov/real-id.A sample of the new, federally-complaint Ohio driver's license.