Question: Beginning Jan. 22, Hawaii residents traveling by air must meet the federal REAL ID Act. Does our Hawaii driver’s license and state ID meet the requirements? I just traveled out of state and the TSA agents informed me that compliant states have a gold star on the IDs, which the Hawaii ones do not. It’s going to be a nightmare if this entire state has to get new driver’s licenses and state IDs.

Answer: Yes, Hawaii complies with the post-9/11 law that requires states to meet federal standards in issuing government IDs, and has since 2013. Hawaii is among 27 states and the District of Columbia in full compliance, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Travelers may continue to use valid Hawaii driver’s licenses and ID cards to board federally regulated commercial aircraft as usual.

That said, the star mark will be included on Hawaii licenses and IDs issued starting later this month, so please read on.

Hawaii is one of only two compliant states (the other is Utah) that did not initially include a white star in a gold circle as a security mark on forms of identification designed to meet the REAL ID Act; the mark is commonly referred to as a gold star.

U.S. Homeland Security has recommended for years that states adopt a uniform design mark (“aka gold star”) so that security screeners could quickly distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable IDs. About 25 states already use the star mark. Effective Jan. 16, Hawaii will join them, said Tim Sakahara, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

The design change was made out of an abundance of caution ahead of the Oct. 1, 2020, hard deadline for compliance with the REAL ID law, he said. State officials are concerned that a star mark may be required by that date, despite past policy assurances to the contrary.

First-time applicants or people renewing expiring Hawaii licenses or IDs will be required to say on their application form which credential (license or ID) they want to carry the star; federal and state law allow a person to have only one REAL ID-compliant credential.

There’s no need at this point to replace a valid Hawaii driver’s license or ID with a starred card, Sakahara said.

“No one should feel compelled to get a new license. The star is not necessary until October 2020 and maybe not even after that,” he said, emphasizing that state officials are working with federal ones to clarify the issue. They will provide more information “in plenty of time,” he said.

You can read more about the federal law and its requirements, see recommendations for states from Homeland Security, and verify that Hawaii is compliant at 808ne.ws/realidfaq, the Homeland Security website.

Your question is sure to generate conversation among Hawaii residents, including some Kokua Line readers, who faulted the state years ago for not including the star mark on its federally compliant licenses and IDs.

Many predicted the star’s absence would cause hassles for Hawaii travelers because the vast majority of compliant states do use the star and Transportation Security Administration agents manning airport security checkpoints instantly recognize the mark.

Q: What about the states that didn’t comply? Can their residents get past the checkpoints?

A: Yes. All the states that are not in compliance (about half the country) were granted extensions by Homeland Security. As noted, the “hard deadline” for enforcement is Oct. 1, 2020. Plus, there are several other forms of identification that are accepted for domestic air travel, such as a U.S. passport.

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