REAL ID

noun

variants or less commonly Real ID

plural REAL IDs also Real IDs

: an identification card or driver's license issued by a U.S. state government in compliance with the REAL ID Act of 2005 that is needed for access to certain federal facilities and for domestic air travel and that requires for issuance the presentation of certain minimum documentation (such as documents proving a person's legal name, date of birth, principal residence, and proof of lawful status in the U.S.)

Examples of REAL ID in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Rosenberg with Oakland Privacy suggested that the state might be better off opting out of the Real ID system than sharing information about its license holders, noting that more than 60 percent of Californians already have passports. —Sacramento Bee Contributor, Sacbee.com, 29 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

2005, in the meaning defined above