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[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 248 (Monday, December 29, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 77836-77838]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30082]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

6 CFR Part 37

RIN 1601-AA74
[Docket No. DHS-2006-0030]

Minimum Standards for Driver's Licenses and Identification Cards 
Acceptable by Federal Agencies for Official Purposes

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DHS.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to REAL ID regulations, beginning December 1, 2014, 
federal agencies may not accept State-issued driver's licenses or 
identification cards for official purposes from individuals born after 
December 1, 1964, unless the license or card is REAL ID-compliant and 
was issued by a compliant State as determined by DHS. Also, beginning 
December 1, 2017, federal agencies may not accept driver's licenses or 
identification cards for official purposes from any individual unless 
the card is REAL ID-compliant and was issued by a compliant State as 
determined by DHS. This final rule changes both document enrollment 
dates to October 1, 2020. Nothing in this rule affects the prohibition 
against federal agencies accepting for official purposes licenses and 
identification cards issued by noncompliant States, pursuant to the 
REAL ID Act and in accordance to the phased enforcement schedule.

DATES: Effective on December 29, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ted Sobel, Director, Office of State-
Issued Identification Support, Screening Coordination Office, 
Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528, (202) 282-9570.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 77837]]

I. Background

    The REAL ID Act of 2005 \1\ (the Act) prohibits federal agencies, 
effective May 11, 2008, from accepting a state-issued driver's license 
or identification card for any official purpose unless the license or 
card is issued by a State that meets the requirements set forth in the 
Act. Official purpose as defined in the Act includes accessing federal 
facilities, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft, entering 
nuclear power plants, and any other purpose as determined by the 
Secretary of Homeland Security. Id. at Sec.  201(3). Section 205(b) of 
the Act, however, authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to 
grant extensions of time for States to meet the requirements of the Act 
if the State provides adequate justification for noncompliance.
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    \1\ The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, 
the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005, Public Law 109-
13, 119 Stat. 231, 302 (May 11, 2005) (codified at 49 U.S.C. 30301 
note).
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    On January 29, 2008, DHS promulgated a final rule implementing the 
requirements of the Act. See 73 FR 5272, also 6 CFR part 37. The final 
rule extended the full compliance date from May 11, 2008, to May 11, 
2011. See 6 CFR 37.51(a). Since promulgation of the final rule, States 
have made significant progress towards securing their document issuance 
and productions processes in accordance with the standards set forth in 
the REAL ID Act. DHS has worked closely with the States to assist with 
implementation and has provided states with more than $263 million in 
grants since fiscal year 2008. Notwithstanding the States' significant 
progress in meeting the requirements of the Act, many States continued 
to experience difficulties in satisfying all the requirements, 
especially in light of diminished budgets during the economic downturn. 
Because of this, DHS believed that additional time was warranted and, 
in March 2011, DHS changed the full compliance deadline to January 15, 
2013. See 76 FR 12269.
    In December 2012, DHS began issuing compliance determinations to 
States submitting certification materials; DHS also announced that DHS 
would enforce the Act through a phased approach and, in the fall of 
2013, released its phased enforcement schedule. Phased enforcement 
ensures that REAL ID can be implemented in a strategic manner, taking 
into account the progress made by the States. Phased enforcement also 
provides DHS with an opportunity to evaluate the effects of enforcement 
in a measured way that can help inform the development and 
implementation of future phases as more States continue to work to come 
into full compliance. In order to inform the pathway to full 
enforcement, DHS plans to conduct an evaluation in 2015 to assess the 
effects of phased enforcement and States' progress in meeting the 
standards. This approach also can assist federal agencies in applying 
lessons learned as they consider future access control strategies.

II. Document Enrollment Periods

    The REAL ID regulations include document enrollment dates after 
which time Federal agencies are prohibited from accepting for official 
purposes driver's licenses or identification cards from certain 
individuals, depending on their age, unless those documents are REAL 
ID-compliant and issued by a fully compliant State. The current 
regulatory text provides that, beginning December 1, 2014, federal 
agencies may not, for official federal purposes, accept any driver's 
licenses or identification cards from individuals born after December 
1, 1964, unless such document is a REAL ID-compliant license or card 
issued by a State determined by DHS to be in full compliance. 
Furthermore, on or after December 1, 2017, federal agencies may not, 
for official federal purposes, accept a driver's license or 
identification card from any individual unless such document is a REAL 
ID-compliant license or card issued by a compliant State. See 6 CFR 
37.5(b) and (c); 6 CFR 37.27.
    With this rule, DHS is changing these document enrollment dates. 
Without the change, large portions of individuals from REAL ID-
compliant jurisdictions would either need to renew their licenses 
before the end of this year or risk not being able to use them for 
official federal purposes beginning December 1, 2014. This is because 
although these individuals may hold licenses from compliant States, 
those licenses may have been issued prior to State compliance and, 
therefore, the document itself may not have been issued in accordance 
with REAL ID standards. Furthermore, the December 1, 2014, and December 
1, 2017, document enrollment dates may complicate DHS's enforcement 
plan and diminish DHS's opportunity to reasonably evaluate the effects 
of the various enforcement phases.
    Additionally, to enforce the December 1, 2014, document enrollment 
date would require compliant States to significantly accelerate their 
license issuance processes to accommodate large numbers of residents 
seeking to renew their licenses by December 2014. Enforcing the date 
also could result in these individuals seeking to obtain an alternative 
acceptable document to establish identity for official federal 
purposes. Because of these significant operational and cost burdens on 
both compliant states and their residents, DHS believes there is 
adequate justification to stay the document enrollment dates.
    Thus, the Secretary of Homeland Security, under the authority 
granted under section 205(b) of the Act, is changing both document 
enrollment dates to October 1, 2020. Under the REAL ID Act, the maximum 
validity period for driver's licenses and identification cards may not 
exceed eight years. The new October 1, 2020 document enrollment date 
represents nearly a full eight-year enrollment cycle from the January 
15, 2013 full compliance date and should give residents of compliant 
states sufficient time to obtain licenses that satisfy the REAL ID 
standards, which presumably they will do in accordance with their 
normal renewal schedule. DHS also is establishing a single document 
enforcement date, as opposed to a bi-furcated approach based on a 
person's age, to accommodate the phased enforcement schedule and to 
simplify the implementation process for federal agencies' access 
control personnel. Nothing in this rule affects the prohibition against 
federal agencies accepting licenses and identification cards issued by 
noncompliant States, pursuant to the REAL ID Act and in accordance to 
the phased enforcement schedule. DHS believes this rule balances the 
security objective of improving the reliability of identification 
documents presented for official purposes with the operational and cost 
burdens on compliant States and their residents.

III. Regulatory Analyses

A. Administrative Procedure Act

    The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) provides that an agency may 
dispense with notice and comment rulemaking procedures when an agency, 
for ``good cause,'' finds that those procedures are ``impracticable, 
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.'' See 5 U.S.C. 
553(b)(B).
    Throughout REAL ID's implementation, DHS has engaged in extensive, 
ongoing discussions with the States regarding their ability to comply 
with the REAL ID Act and regulations. Based in part on those 
communications, DHS believes that phased enforcement offers States the 
best ability to obtain full compliance with REAL ID. As DHS is 
currently implementing phased

[[Page 77838]]

enforcement, DHS believes it is contrary to the public interest to 
retain and enforce the document enrollment dates as REAL ID-compliant 
States would experience additional burdens by requiring the accelerated 
issuance of REAL ID-compliant driver's licenses and identification 
cards. Furthermore, to seek public comment prior to changing the age-
based document enrollment dates is impracticable, given that such 
comments could not be received and acted upon prior to December 1, 
2014, when the Federal government would decline to accept all legacy 
licenses and cards issued before a State became compliant held by 
individuals born after December 1, 1964.
    Based on the above, DHS finds that notice and comment rulemaking in 
this instance would be impracticable, unnecessary, and contrary to the 
public interest. For the same reason, DHS finds good cause to make this 
rule effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register. 
See 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). In addition, because this final rule relieves a 
restriction, and because compliant States will be able to renew 
driver's licenses and identification cards in accordance with their 
normal processes, States will now have more time to ensure that the 
documents they issue meet the security requirements of the REAL ID Act, 
there is good cause to make this rule effective immediately upon 
publication in the Federal Register.

B. Executive Order 13563 and Executive Order 12866

    This rule constitutes a ``significant regulatory action'' under 
Executive Order 12866, as supplemented by Executive Order 13563, and 
therefore has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB). Executive Order 12866 defines ``significant regulatory action'' 
as one that is likely to result in a rule that may (1) have an annual 
effect on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a 
material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, 
competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, 
local, or Tribal governments or communities; (2) create a serious 
inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by 
another agency; (3) materially alter the budgetary impact of 
entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights or 
obligations of recipients thereof; or (4) raise novel legal or policy 
issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's priorities, or 
the principles set forth in the Executive Order.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, as 
amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 
1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), requires Federal agencies to consider the 
potential impact of regulations on small businesses, small government 
jurisdictions, and small organizations during the development of their 
rules. This final rule, however, makes changes for which notice and 
comment are not necessary. Accordingly, DHS is not required to prepare 
a regulatory flexibility analysis. See 5 U.S.C. 603, 604.

D. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rule calls for no new collection of information under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520).

E. Executive Order 12132 (Federalism)

    A rule has implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132, 
``Federalism,'' if it has a substantial direct effect on State or local 
governments and would either preempt State law or impose a substantial 
direct cost of compliance on them. We have analyzed this rule under 
that Order and have determined that it does not have these implications 
for federalism.

F. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) 
requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of their discretionary 
regulatory actions. In particular, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
addresses actions that may result in the expenditure by a State, local, 
or Tribal government, in the aggregate, or by the private section of 
$100 million (adjusted for inflation) or more in any one year. This 
final rule will not result in such an expenditure.

G. Executive Order 13175 (Tribal Consultation)

    This rule does not have Tribal Implications under Executive Order 
13175, ``Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal 
Governments,'' because it does not have a substantial direct effect on 
one or more Indian Tribes, on the relationship between the Federal 
Government and Indian Tribes, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian Tribes.

H. Executive Order 13211 (Energy Impact Analysis)

    DHS has analyzed this rule under Executive Order 13211, ``Actions 
Concerning Regulations that Significantly Affect Energy Supply 
Distribution, or Use.'' DHS has determined that it is not a 
``significant energy action'' under that Order and is not likely to 
have a significant adverse effect on the supply, distribution, or use 
of energy. Therefore, it does not require a Statement of Energy Effects 
under Executive Order 13211.

List of Subjects in 6 CFR Part 37

    Document security, Driver's licenses, Identification cards, 
Incorporation by reference, Motor vehicle administrations, Physical 
security.

The Amendments

    For the reasons set forth above, the Department of Homeland 
Security amends 6 CFR part 37 as follows:

PART 37--REAL ID DRIVER'S LICENSES AND IDENTIFICATION CARDS

0
1. The authority citation for part 37 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 30301 note; 6 U.S.C. 111, 112.

0
2. In Sec.  37.5, remove paragraph (b), redesignate paragraph (c) as 
paragraph (b), redesignate paragraph (d) as paragraph (c), and revise 
redesignated paragraph (b) to read as follows:

Sec.  37.5  Validity periods and deadlines for REAL ID driver's 
licenses and identification cards.

* * * * *
    (b) On or after October 1, 2020, Federal agencies shall not accept 
a driver's license or identification card for official purposes from 
any individual unless such license or card is a REAL ID-compliant 
driver's license or identification card issued by a State that has been 
determined by DHS to be in full compliance as defined under this 
subpart.
* * * * *

Sec.  37.27  [Amended]

0
3. In Sec.  37.27, remove the last two sentences.

Jeh Charles Johnson,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-30082 Filed 12-24-14; 8:45 am]
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