From
REAL ID Act:
quote:
The REAL ID Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-13, 119 Stat. 302, enacted May 11, 2005, was an Act of Congress that modified U.S. federal law pertaining to security, authentication, and issuance procedures standards for the state driver's licenses and identification (ID) cards, as well as various immigration issues pertaining to terrorism. ...
The date for meeting the REAL ID requirements was last changed to January 15, 2013... after which,
you will be required to have a REAL-ID-grade driver's license or a current passport to board a domestic aircraft in the US. Paper requirement details to obtain Real ID may vary with the state, but states as a minumum generally require official documentation of birth date (birth certificate), SSN (card), proof of current residence address (utility bill), and photo ID or non-photo ID including full legal name and birthdate ((current driver's license/ID). This is currently the case in Indiana, where both REAL ID and non-REAL-ID driver's licenses are currently available. Obtaining a REAL ID license here requires a trip to the license branch with the necessary legal papers so that they can be physically verified.
There are a number of special requirements about the REAL ID license itself that link it to various databases and contain anti-theft and anti-counterfeiting provisions.