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PA Drivers License May Soon Not Be Enough To Get You On A Plane

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- The feds have warned the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that drivers licenses do not meet the standards set up by Homeland Security.

If that doesn't change, and soon, residents could have difficulty on a number of fronts.

State legislators in 2012 passed a bill barring cooperation in what's called REAL ID, so those licenses are, in effect, not up to snuff. Come January 30th, your license won't be enough to get you into most federal facilities, like military bases, as well as a nuclear plant.

There is one exception.

"If someone needs to go to a federal office to apply for federal benefits, then they will be allowed in with just a Pennsylvania drivers license," PennDOT spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick told KYW Newsradio.

But by January of 2018, if nothing changes, things could get difficult for far more people in the Keystone State.

"The Pennsylvania drivers license will not be accepted by TSA at airports for flights on commercial airlines," Kirkpatrick said.

That means you'd need another form of identification, like a passport, just to get on a plane.

Harrisburg has about a year to change the law or get another extension from the feds.

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