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Tim Nelson

With state IDs in doubt, more Minnesotans seek 'enhanced' licenses

Travelers at Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport
Minnesota's identification cards risk being rejected for air travel and admittance to federal facilities.
Jennifer Simonson | MPR News file

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A dispute between state and federal governments over recognition of Minnesota identification cards appears to have prompted a surge in applications for so-called enhanced driver's licenses.

The federal government is tightening its standards for state-issued identification cards under the Real ID Act of 2005. Minnesota legislators who objected to the cost and privacy implications of the act passed their own law in 2009 forbidding state officials from complying with the federal standards.

Now, as the federal government implements those standards, Minnesota's identification cards risk being rejected for air travel and admittance to federal facilities.

The Department of Homeland Security this month denied Gov. Mark Dayton's request for an extension that would temporarily exempt Minnesota license holders from the Real ID requirements.

That's prompted a surge in applications for enhanced driver's licenses, which could substitute for Real ID. The so-called EDLs are voluntary, but require applicants to present extra proof of identification, like Social Security cards and passports — as well as pay a $15 fee.

Department of Public Safety officials say they received more than 3,000 EDL applications in the first two weeks of December, nearly a quarter of all enhanced driver's license applications since February of 2014.