States given Real ID extension

  • Published
  • By Mark Wyatt
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – The Department of Homeland Security has granted an extension allowing federal agencies to accept driver's licenses and identification cards from several states and U.S. territories.

However, federal agencies will not accept driver's licenses and identification cards from American Samoa beginning Feb. 5.

“Anyone possessing an American Samoa driver’s license and no Defense Department-issued ID card must present another valid form of ID, such as a passport,” said Capt. Dayne Foote, 66th Security Forces Squadron operations officer.

The policy aligns with the Air Force’s installation access requirements of the Real ID Act. The Act focuses on improving the reliability of state-issued identification documents and helps prevent a person from evading detection by using a fraudulent form of ID.

Some of the more common alternatives include a valid U.S. or foreign government-issued passport, an employment authorization document that contains a photograph, and other travel or employment documents issued by various federal agencies.

Several states, including Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, are currently on a Real ID extension through Oct. 10, 2018.

For a full list of Real ID Act compliant states, and those on an extension, visit the Department of Homeland Security’s website at https://www.dhs.gov/current-status-states-territories.  

“We take the security of Hanscom Air Force Base as well as those who live and work here very seriously,” Foote said. “Securing the installation is our highest priority.”

For further information, contact Police Services at 781-225-5605.