The Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MDOT MVA) and BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport are reminding travelers to prepare for the federal Real ID Act implementation.

Passed by Congress in 2005, the federal Real ID Act requires security standards for those who wish to access federal facilities (such as military bases and federal agencies), federally regulated commercial aircrafts and nuclear power plants. Maryland has been a Real ID compliant state since 2011.

Effective Oct. 1, 2020, these standards will be enforced at card level, which means that individuals must have a Real ID compliant driver’s license or identification card in order to use it for any federal purpose, including boarding an airplane. To date, more than 1.8 million Maryland customers have provided the necessary documents required by Real ID.

MDOT MVA is encouraging all customers to use the Real ID Online Lookup Tool at www.mva.maryland.gov/realid, to determine if they will be required to bring documents to an MDOT MVA branch office.