[kenco80233]

Does anyone know for sure if you will be able to use a Nevada Drivers License for airline flight I.D. after 01/01/2010.I thught that we were given an extension,but after reading in the Review Journal this morning,it is questionable. We are flying to Colorado to visit family,returning 01/04/2010.I am wondering if we will be able to get home.We don't have passports,as we don't travel except to visit family in the U.S.

[Kalbo]

Should be OK for domestic travel. Passport is for international travel. Driver License for domestic travel, since there is no standard national ID yet.

[airics]

exactly... if its not international, dl is fine

[mcol]

I think the poster is referring to the fact that there are 36 states
(New Mexico being one for sure, I can't find a list of the others)
that do not meet the federal criteria for driver's licenses, and unless
they figure something out after January 1st, 2010, a passport will
be needed for domestic travel.

KOB.com - Get Answers: Passport required to fly domestically? (http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S1276525.shtml?cat=504 - broken link)

[Kaiminani]

Don't worry about it. The feds will cave. There are just too many states that did not comply. Worst case you can just mail your license home and show up at the airport and tell them you lost it - they have a standard procedure for people who have 'lost' their license (but if they find it on you during the extra search then they will refuse to let you fly, that policy really keeps the skies safe!)

Meanwhile, it's a good thing that so many states have refused to obey. These new regulations for nationalized ids only waste money and increase everyone's risk for identity theft. Part of compliance is the linking of each state's DMV computers to every other state's DMV computers which means all a bad guy has to do is bribe one DMV employee anywhere in the country to steal IDs from anywhere else in the country - meanwhile any real terrorists that might need a fake id will just bribe someone at the DMV or forge a birth certificate and use that to get a fake driver's license.

So, yet again washington wastes money, makes life harder and less secure for the law abiding, but does nothing to stop actual dangerous criminals.

Here's something else to think about while you are standing in line for the TSA checkpoint -- nobody checks the ground crews. Hundreds of people at each airport have access to luggage and in some cases the actual planes without going through any kind of security screening. Sure makes you understand the value of taking off your shoes...