The original Oct. 1, 2020 deadline has been pushed back a year to Oct. 1, 2021, officials announced Thursday.
The acting secretary for Homeland Security Chad Wolf released a statement that said in part, “The federal, state and local response to the spread of the Coronavirus here in the United States necessitates a delay in this deadline. Our state and local partners are working tirelessly with the Administration to flatten the curve and, therefore, we want to remove any impediments to response and recovery efforts.”
Extending the deadline will also allow the Department to work with Congress to implement needed changes to expedite the issuance of REAL IDs once the current health crisis concludes,” Wolf added.