SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico now has 1 million residents with driver's licenses or identification cards that comply with tougher federal ID requirements that will take effect on October 1, 2020.
Officials with the state Taxation and Revenue Department say people have just over a year to meet the deadline under the Real ID Act, which was passed in 2005 to strengthen rules for identification for airline flights and at federal facilities such as military bases.
With the one-millionth license issued last week, about 70 percent of New Mexico licenses and identification cards now carry the gold star that marks them as being Real ID-compliant.
New Mexico began issuing the credentials in November 2016 as part of a two-tier system that also allows for IDs that do not meet the tougher standards to be issued.