Arizona travelers who use their state driver’s license or ID for airport checkpoints are encouraged to get the new travel ID. The Voluntary Travel ID is available at the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicles Division and meets the federal standard of identification.

As a response to the 9/11 attacks, the federal government passed the REAL ID Act in 2005. This act created a higher standard of identification for state IDs. 

Arizona IDs (driver’s licenses and ID cards) do not currently meet these standards, and state IDs will only work for federal facilities, like airports, until October 2020. After this deadline, travelers will need another form of ID to get through checkpoints. A passport or the travel ID will work. 

To get a travel ID, people should go to the Motor Vehicles Division and provide the necessary documentation in three categories of identification: birth certificate, U.S. passport or passport card; social security card or W-2 form; and two proofs of Arizona residency. The travel ID looks like a state ID with a gold star in the corner. It will cost $25 and is valid for eight years.