SEATTLE -- You may need your passport the next time you fly out of Sea-Tac Airport, even if it's a domestic flight. Washington state driver's licenses don't meet federal standards and the TSA may stop accepting them next year to get through airport security, the state Department of Licensing said Tuesday.
Washington is one of only a handful of states that has not yet met the new federal licensing standards.
After the federal standards were changed a decade ago, Washington passed a law asking the Department of Licensing to not comply due to privacy concerns. State leaders believed the changes made it easier to share user's private information.
If the Department of Homeland Security moves forward with a ban, it won't affect Washingtonians with an enhanced driver's license. TSA will still accept that but they will not accept standard driver's licenses or other identity cards.
The Department of Homeland Security says it will let states know by the end of the year when it plans to only accept licenses that comply with the federal standards, promising to give at least four months' notice before the new rules go into effect. If they make the change in January, the earliest a Washington driver's license can be declined will be the end of April.
A DOL spokesman says the department believes people will have longer than four months' notice, adding no one should panic knowing that they will have time to consider their options.
To bring Washington driver's licenses in compliance with federal standards would require a change in state law. The legislative session begins in January.
