II 

Calendar No. 601 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4133 

[Report No. 116–303] 

To modernize the REAL ID Act of 2005, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 1, 2020 

Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mr. PETERS, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

DECEMBER 7, 2020 

Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To modernize the REAL ID Act of 2005, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘REAL ID Moderniza5 tion Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REAL ID ACT AMENDMENTS. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 201 of the REAL ID Act 

3 of 2005 (division B of Public Law 109–13; 49 U.S.C. 

4 30301 note) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘The term ‘driver’s license’ 

7 means’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘The term 

8 ‘driver’s license’— 

9 ‘‘(A) means’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘Code.’’ and inserting the 

11 following: ‘‘Code; and 

12 ‘‘(B) includes driver’s licenses stored or 

13 accessed via electronic means, such as mobile or 

14 digital driver’s licenses, which have been issued 

15 in accordance with regulations prescribed by the 

16 Secretary.’’; and 

17 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘The term ‘identification 

19 card’ means’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘The 

20 term ‘identification card’— 

21 ‘‘(A) means’’; and 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘State.’’ and inserting the 

23 following: ‘‘State; and 

24 ‘‘(B) includes identification cards stored or 

25 accessed via electronic means, such as mobile or 

26 digital identification cards, which have been 


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1 issued in accordance with regulations prescribed 

2 by the Secretary.’’. 

3 (b) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL REC4 OGNITION.—Section 202 of the REAL ID Act of 2005 (di5 vision B of Public Law 109–13; 49 U.S.C. 30301 note) 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘, in con9 sultation with the Secretary of Transpor10 tation,’’; and 

11 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The presentation of a dig13 ital image of a driver’s license or identification card 

14 to an official of a Federal agency may not be con15 strued to grant consent for such Federal agency— 

16 ‘‘(A) to examine any data (other than the 

17 digital document being presented) contained on 

18 the personal electronic device on which the li19 cense or card is displayed; or 

20 ‘‘(B) to otherwise search or seize such de21 vice.’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (b)— 

23 (A) in the subsection header, by striking 

24 ‘‘DOCUMENT’’ and inserting ‘‘DRIVER’S LI25 CENSE AND IDENTIFICATION CARD’’; 


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1 (B) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

2 by inserting ‘‘, or as part of,’’ after ‘‘features 

3 on’’; 

4 (C) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘, which 

5 may be taken at the time the person applies for 

6 a driver’s license or identification card or may 

7 be a digital photograph of the person that is al8 ready on file with the State if the photograph 

9 was taken during the 6-year period preceding 

10 such application’’ before the period at the end; 

11 (D) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘prin12 ciple’’ and inserting ‘‘principal’’; and 

13 (E) in paragraph (8)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘Physical security’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘Security’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘document’’ and in17 serting ‘‘driver’s license or identification 

18 card’’; 

19 (3) in subsection (c)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

22 ‘‘Proof of the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’; and 

23 (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

24 ‘‘Documentation showing the’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘The’’; 


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1 (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

2 paragraph (4); 

3 (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(3) ELECTRONIC PRESENTATION OF IDENTITY

6 AND LAWFUL STATUS INFORMATION.—A State may 

7 accept information required under paragraphs (1) 

8 and (2) through the use of electronic transmission 

9 methods if— 

10 ‘‘(A) the Secretary issues regulations re11 garding such electronic transmission that— 

12 ‘‘(i) describe the categories of infor13 mation eligible for electronic transmission; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ii) include measures— 

16 ‘‘(I) to ensure the authenticity of 

17 the information transmitted; 

18 ‘‘(II) to protect personally identi19 fiable information; and 

20 ‘‘(III) to detect and prevent iden21 tity fraud; and 

22 ‘‘(B) the State certifies to the Department 

23 of Homeland Security that its use of such elec24 tronic methods complies with regulations issued 

25 by the Secretary.’’; and 


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1 (D) in paragraph (4)(A), as redesignated, 

2 by striking ‘‘each document’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

3 information and documentation’’; and 

4 (4) in subsection (d)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘docu6 ment materials and papers’’ and inserting ‘‘ma7 terials, records, and data’’; 

8 (B) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘security 

9 clearance requirements’’ and inserting ‘‘back10 ground checks’’; and 

11 (C) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘fraudu12 lent document recognition’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘fraud detection and prevention’’. 

14 (c) PERMANENT EXTENSION OF GRANTS TO

15 STATES.—Section 204(b) of the REAL ID Act of 2005 

16 (division B of Public Law 109–13; 49 U.S.C. 30301 note) 

17 is amended by striking ‘‘for each of the fiscal years 2005 

18 through 2009’’. 

19 (d) RULEMAKING PROCEDURE.—Section 205(a) of 

20 the REAL ID Act of 2005 (division B of Public Law 109– 

21 13; 49 U.S.C. 30301 note) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(a) PROCEDURE.—At the Secretary’s discretion, the 

23 promulgation of regulations and the administration of this 

24 title may be made without regard to— 


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1 ‘‘(1) chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code 

2 (commonly known as the ‘Paperwork Reduction 

3 Act’); and 

4 ‘‘(2) the notice and comment and delayed effec5 tive date provisions under section 553 of title 5, 

6 United States Code.’’. 

7 (e) NOTIFICATION OF REAL ID ACT OF 2005 RE8 QUIREMENTS.—The REAL ID Act of 2005 (division B of 

9 Public Law 109–13; 49 U.S.C. 30301 note) is amended 

10 by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 208. NOTIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS AND DEAD12 LINES. 

13 ‘‘During the 15-month period beginning 90 days be14 fore the date on which Federal agencies will no longer ac15 cept, for official purposes, driver’s licenses and identifica16 tion cards that do not comply with the requirements under 

17 section 202, aircraft operators and third party reservation 

18 entities shall notify passengers, to the extent practicable, 

19 about the requirements and enforcement deadlines under 

20 this Act.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. IMMEDIATE BURDEN REDUCTION MEASURES. 

22 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, begin23 ning on the date of the enactment of this Act, a State 

24 does not need to require an applicant for a driver’s license 

25 or identification card to provide separate documentation 


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1 of the applicant’s Social Security account number or ad2 dress of principal residence in order to comply with section 

3 201 of the REAL ID Act of 2005, as amended by section 

4 2(a). 

5 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘REAL ID Moderniza7 tion Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. REAL ID ACT AMENDMENTS. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 201 of the REAL ID Act 

10 of 2005 (division B of Public Law 109–13; 49 U.S.C. 30301 

11 note) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘The term ‘driver’s license’ 

14 means’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘The term 

15 ‘driver’s license’— 

16 ‘‘(A) means’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘Code.’’ and inserting the 

18 following: ‘‘Code; and 

19 ‘‘(B) includes driver’s licenses stored or 

20 accessed via electronic means, such as mobile or 

21 digital driver’s licenses, which have been issued 

22 in accordance with regulations prescribed by the 

23 Secretary.’’; and 

24 (2) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘The term ‘identification 

2 card’ means’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘The 

3 term ‘identification card’— 

4 ‘‘(A) means’’; and 

5 (B) by striking ‘‘State.’’ and inserting the 

6 following: ‘‘State; and 

7 ‘‘(B) includes identification cards stored or 

8 accessed via electronic means, such as mobile or 

9 digital identification cards, which have been 

10 issued in accordance with regulations prescribed 

11 by the Secretary.’’. 

12 (b) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL REC13 OGNITION.—Section 202 of the REAL ID Act of 2005 (divi14 sion B of Public Law 109–13; 49 U.S.C. 30301 note) is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘DOCU17 MENT’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘, in con20 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation,’’; 

21 and 

22 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The presentation of digital 

24 information from a mobile or digital driver’s license 

25 or identification card to an official of a Federal agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Dec 08, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4133.RS S4133

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1 cy for an official purpose may not be construed to 

2 grant consent for such Federal agency to seize the 

3 electronic device on which the license or card is stored 

4 or to examine any other information contained on 

5 such device.’’; 

6 (3) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

8 ‘‘DOCUMENT’’ and inserting ‘‘DRIVER’S LICENSE

9 AND IDENTIFICATION CARD’’; 

10 (B) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

11 by inserting ‘‘, or as part of,’’ after ‘‘features 

12 on’’; 

13 (C) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘, which 

14 may be the photograph taken by the State at the 

15 time the person applies for a driver’s license or 

16 identification card or may be a digital photo17 graph of the person that is already on file with 

18 the State if the photograph was taken of the per19 son by the State during the 6-year period pre20 ceding such application’’ before the period at the 

21 end; 

22 (D) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘prin23 ciple’’ and inserting ‘‘principal’’; and 

24 (E) in paragraph (8)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘Physical security’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘Security’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘document’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘driver’s license or identification card’’; 

5 (4) in subsection (c)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

7 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

8 ‘‘Proof of the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’; and 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

10 ‘‘Documentation showing the’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘The’’; 

12 (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

13 paragraph (4); 

14 (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(3) ELECTRONIC PRESENTATION OF IDENTITY

17 AND LAWFUL STATUS INFORMATION.—A State may 

18 accept information required under paragraphs (1) 

19 and (2) through the use of electronic transmission 

20 methods if— 

21 ‘‘(A) the Secretary issues regulations re22 garding such electronic transmission that— 

23 ‘‘(i) describe the categories of informa24 tion eligible for electronic transmission; and 

25 ‘‘(ii) include measures— 


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1 ‘‘(I) to ensure the authenticity of 

2 the information transmitted; 

3 ‘‘(II) to protect personally identi4 fiable information; and 

5 ‘‘(III) to detect and prevent iden6 tity fraud; and 

7 ‘‘(B) the State certifies to the Department of 

8 Homeland Security that its use of such electronic 

9 methods complies with regulations issued by the 

10 Secretary.’’; and 

11 (D) in paragraph (4)(A), as redesignated, 

12 by striking ‘‘each document’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

13 information and documentation’’; and 

14 (5) in subsection (d)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘docu16 ment materials and papers’’ and inserting ‘‘ma17 terials, records, and data’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘security 

19 clearance requirements’’ and inserting ‘‘back20 ground checks’’; and 

21 (C) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘fraudu22 lent document recognition’’ and inserting ‘‘fraud 

23 detection and prevention’’. 


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1 (c) REPEAL OF GRANTS TO STATES.—The REAL ID 

2 Act of 2005 (division B of Public Law 109–13; 49 U.S.C. 

3 30301 note) is amended by striking section 204. 

4 (d) RULEMAKING PROCEDURE.—Section 205(a) of the 

5 REAL ID Act of 2005 (division B of Public Law 109–13; 

6 49 U.S.C. 30301 note) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(a) PROCEDURE.—At the Secretary’s discretion, the 

8 promulgation of regulations and the administration of this 

9 title may be made without regard to— 

10 ‘‘(1) chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code 

11 (commonly known as the ‘Paperwork Reduction Act’); 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(2) the notice and comment and delayed effec14 tive date provisions under section 553 of title 5, 

15 United States Code.’’. 

16 (e) NOTIFICATION OF REAL ID ACT OF 2005 RE17 QUIREMENTS.—The REAL ID Act of 2005 (division B of 

18 Public Law 109–13; 49 U.S.C. 30301 note) is amended by 

19 adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 208. NOTIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS AND DEAD21 LINES. 

22 ‘‘During the 15-month period beginning 90 days before 

23 the date on which Federal agencies will no longer accept, 

24 for official purposes, driver’s licenses and identification 

25 cards that do not comply with the requirements under secVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Dec 08, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4133.RS S4133

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1 tion 202, aircraft operators and third party reservation en2 tities shall notify passengers about the requirements and en3 forcement deadlines under this Act.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. IMMEDIATE BURDEN REDUCTION MEASURES. 

5 Notwithstanding any other provision of law (including 

6 regulations), beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

7 Act, a State does not need to require an applicant for a 

8 driver’s license or identification card to provide separate 

9 documentation of the applicant’s Social Security account 

10 number or address of principal residence in order to comply 

11 with the requirements of the REAL ID Act of 2005 (division 

12 B of Public Law 109–13; 49 U.S.C. 30301 note). 


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Calendar No. 601 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4133 

[Report No. 116–303] 

A BILL 

To modernize the REAL ID Act of 2005, and for 

other purposes. 

DECEMBER 7, 2020 

Reported with an amendment 


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