Typically, technology is awesome. It’s faster than doing things manually. More efficient. Cheaper in the long run. All that good stuff.
But then there’s a glitch that not only grinds everything to a halt, but makes things super inconvenient for all involved.
Such is the case when a state’s driver’s license won’t “talk” to the hardware and software of the TSA.
We’ve been down this road before.
- In February 2023, it was discovered that TSA’s software at the TSA security checkpoint wasn’t accepting newly-issued Colorado driver’s licenses for reasons. There were ways to circumvent the issue, and eventually TSA fixed their problem (without ever admitting that they were, in fact, the problem).
- Fast forward to May of 2023, and some newly-issued driver’s licenses from Arizona were having problems at the TSA checkpoint. This problem turned out to be how the DLs were being printed, and it was eventually fixed.
So here we are in late 2025, Real ID has been required for almost 6 months, and you’d think that everyone would be on board by now, right?
Wrong.
Maine’s Secretary of State’s office recently admitted that certain residents’ REAL IDs were failing to scan correctly at TSA checkpoints across the country.
“A tiny fraction of Maine REAL IDs could not be read by the TSA bar code readers, an issue that very few experienced and appears to be sporadic,” Maine’s Department of the Secretary of State Shenna Bellows was quoted as saying.
“None experienced a disruption in their travel.”
The TSA told Maine’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles in a recent meeting that while some of the state’s Real ID cards have been affected by the error, “95% of Maine travelers” have a compliant document, according to the secretary of state’s office.
The population of Maine currently sits at about 1.4 million individuals, which means roughly 70,000 residents of the state have DLs that won’t work at the TSA checkpoint.
The technical malfunction is said to have originated from one of Maine’s instant issue printing machines. The problem has since been repaired and Bellows’ office suggests that anyone encountering problems with their Real IDs should contact the Bureau of Motor Vehicles for a replacement card.
“Most Maine residents received their Maine REAL ID in the mail direct from the factory, which have had no problems with the TSA being able to read the bar code on the back,” the Maine Secretary of State’s Office said in a statement to the U.S. Sun. “The TSA bar code readers have experienced some trouble reading only a few of those instant issue cards printed in our office, but not all.”
It’s being recommended that ME residents who are traveling bring a secondary form of appropriate REAL I.D. (here’s a list of what can be used), in case their DL doesn’t work.
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