The federal REAL ID Act of 2005 sets new standards for the issuance of driver licenses and identification cards.
Effective January 1, 2010, Florida law requires all applicants for a drivers license or identification card to present certified identification documents. The REAL ID credentials have a star in the upper right corner of the card. Because Florida is a REAL ID-compliant state, all Florida licenses should be accepted nationwide. For more information on required documents, please click here.
The Department of Homeland Security announced on December 20, 2013, that enforcement of REAL ID credentials will begin in a measured, fair, and responsible way. Floridians will first see enforcement at nuclear power plants and restricted areas of certain federal facilities. Enforcement at airports across the country will not begin until October 1, 2020. The chart below summarizes the four phases of enforcement.
| PHASE | LOCATION | ENFORCEMENT DATE |
| Phase 1 | Restricted areas (i.e., areas accessible by agency personnel, contractors, and their guests) for DHS headquarters in Washington. | April 21, 2014 |
| Phase 2 | Restricted areas for all Federal facilities and nuclear power plants. | July 21, 2014 |
| Phase 3 | Semi-restricted areas (i.e., areas available to the general public but subject to ID-based access control) for most Federal facilities. | |
| 3a. Federal Security Levels 1 and 2 | January 19, 2015 | |
| 3b. Federal Security Levels 3, 4, and 5, and military facilities | October 10, 2015 | |
| Phase 4 | Boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft. A drivers license or identification card from a noncompliant state may only be used in conjunction with a second form of ID for boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft. | October 1, 2020 |