Are you required to have a REAL ID? No.

Federal REAL ID travel requirement takes effect on May 7

LAFOLLETTE, TN (SPECIAL TO WLAF)- Tennesseans are not required to obtain a REAL ID compliant license or Identification credential, according to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. You do not need a REAL ID to drive, vote, purchase alcohol or cigarettes, access hospitals, visit the post office, access federal courts or apply for or receive federal benefits such as social security or veterans’ benefits.

The REAL ID Act of 2005 established minimum security standards for license issuance and production. These standards provide an additional level of security to protect your identity. It also prohibits Federal agencies from accepting driver licenses and ID cards from states that do not meet the Act’s minimum standards. 

Beginning Wed., May 7, 2025, everyone must have a REAL ID or another approved Federally-issued ID, such as a passport, to enter certain Federal buildings, military bases and nuclear power plants or board commercial flights within the United States.

You can get a REAL ID Monday through Friday at the Campbell County Court Clerk’s Office, Todd Nance’s office, at the courthouse.

(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-04/02/2025-6AM-CONTENT AND GRAPHIC COURTESY OF TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY)