title: TSA: US Residents from 9 States Will Need Passports for Domestic Flights
text: This latest move by America s notorious Transportation Security Authority (TSA) seems to be step one in a move towards a national ID Card, complete with biometrics and embedded RFID technology.By forcing residents of nine states to get passports in order to board domestic flights, the TSA is de facto pushing those states towards the implementation of a new state-of-the-art ID card system.This will help to give real teeth to the  The Real ID Act It s just the next phase in the further militarization of US society.Forbes reports You may have thought you don t need a passport because you don t travel outside the United States. But for residents of nine states, that will change at the beginning of 2018 for any commercial flight, whether international or domestic.Nine states will no longer allow travelers to board an airplane with just their state issued driver s licenses as of January 22, 2018. To get past TSA security checkpoints, another form of identification will be required: passport, permanent resident card/green card or a military ID.The Real ID Act of 2005 states that state-issued IDs from these nine states do not meet the minimum security standards of the federal government:With just a few months until the Real ID Act goes into full effect, it is time to start planning now and look into getting your passport. Here is the airport signage, placed around the security checkpoints in airports to remind U.S. travelers of what;s to come (with my emphasis): Starting January 22, 2018, you will need a driver s license or ID from a state compliant with the REAL ID ACT, a state that has an extension for compliance, or an alternate ID to fly. For REAL ID information, and a list of acceptable IDs, visit tsa.gov.  Some states have started working on offering federally approved issued IDs that would not require a passport for domestic air travel. Check with your local government office to see if there is a different type of ID you can apply for, and the TSA website to clarify this situation. Because on January 22, 2018, the enforcement for those nine states will go into effect, and by 2020, even more people will end up needing a passport, as confirmed by the official website of the Transportation Security Administration.To repeat, if you re going to take a flight and you have a state-issued ID from one of those nine states listed above, unless your state has made federally approved changes before January, you should use a passport to go anywhere across the country, as all domestic travel is included in these new standards. (States other than those nine will not be affected.)Continue this story at ForbesREAD MORE TSA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire TSA FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE  SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV