Maryland’s driver’s licenses and identification cards remain valid for boarding domestic flights and entering federal facilities after the Transportation Security Administration formally recertified the state’s compliance with federal REAL ID requirements, the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration announced this week.
The recertification confirms that the MVA continues to meet security standards set out under the REAL ID Act’s federal implementing regulations, which require states to periodically prove their identification programs still meet U.S. Department of Homeland Security benchmarks. TSA reviewers examined the state’s policies, physical security controls, issuance procedures and record-keeping practices before signing off.
As of September, 99.56% of Maryland’s active licenses and ID cards are REAL ID compliant, according to MVA data, a rate the agency says ranks among the highest of any state. More than 4.9 million Marylanders now hold an active REAL ID-compliant card. The figure builds on progress the MVA reported last year, when the agency said it was approaching full compliance ahead of the federal government’s May 2025 enforcement deadline for REAL ID at airport security checkpoints.
Motor Vehicle Administrator Chrissy Nizer credited both staff oversight and recent technology investments for sustaining the compliance rate. “I am proud of our team’s continuous work to maintain Maryland’s compliance with federal REAL ID requirements while strengthening the security of our identification products and protection of customers’ personal information,” Nizer said in a statement, pointing to myMVA — the agency’s online account portal — and a newly launched real-time public dashboard as tools helping residents manage their credentials.
Maryland has a long track record on REAL ID. The state was among the first in the nation to have its program certified in 2011 and became the first state to win a federal recertification from Homeland Security in 2019, a distinction the MVA has cited as evidence of the program’s durability under successive reviews.
For Southern Maryland residents who still need to obtain or upgrade to a REAL ID, the MVA requires documentation establishing identity and age, a Social Security number and proof of Maryland residency; residents can find a full list of accepted documents and start the application on the MVA’s website. Southern Maryland drivers can complete REAL ID transactions at MVA branch offices serving Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties, in addition to the agency’s online scheduling tools.
