Michigan

What’s the difference between Real and Enhanced ID? What to know in Michigan before May 7

Published

12 months ago

April 27, 2025

Press Room

What’s the difference between Real and Enhanced ID? What to know in Michigan before May 7

Starting May 7, 2025, Michigan residents will need a Real ID-compliant driver’s license or identification card for domestic flights and to enter certain federal facilities.
Residents can obtain a Real ID by visiting a Secretary of State branch with required documentation, including proof of identity and legal presence.

Some Michigan residents who have Enhanced licenses may be wondering if those will satisfy the federal government’s requirement to have Real ID-compliant identification in order to fly domestically; here’s what you need to know ahead of the May 7 deadline.

Beginning May 7, residents in all states will need to comply with the new travel standards of the REAL ID Act of 2005 passed by Congress.

In Michigan, a compliant Real ID license will include a star either in a circle or silhouette of Michigan; or with the U.S. flag icon on the front. Michigan’s enhanced ID’s, which allow entry to and from Canada, Mexico and Bermuda, satisfy the federal statute’s requirements.

As the deadline nears, Michigan’s secretary of state said many people are obtaining the Real ID-compliant process.

“Michigan’s REAL ID conversion rate for the week of April 7 was a record-breaking 82.8%, the Michigan secretary of state office said in an April 16 release. “The REAL ID conversion rate for the same week in 2024 was just 19%.”

As residents continue to get their Real ID’s, here’s what to know:

When does Real ID take effect?

On May 7, 2025, Michigan residents will need a Real ID to fly domestically and federal facilities under federal law.

What is the difference between a Real ID and an Enhanced ID?

“Michigan’s old license and ID design, which is being phased out by January 2029, features a star in a gold circle to indicate REAL ID compliance,” the secretary of state said. “The state’s new license design features a star in a silhouette of Michigan. Both versions of the star are acceptable.”

Here are the two main differences between a standard Real ID and an enhanced ID:

Enhanced ID’s can be used in place of a U.S. passport for travel by land or sea from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean.
Enhanced ID’s are marked with a U.S. flag icon on the front. (some ID’s have both the star and U.S. flag)
Enhanced ID’s include the title “ENHANCED DRIVER’S LICENSE”

A standard Real ID-compliant licenses will have only a star either in a gold circle, or in a silhouette of Michigan in the top right corner.

“State-issued Enhanced Driver’s Licenses and identification cards (EDL/EID) are designated as acceptable border-crossing documents by DHS under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and are an acceptable alternative to a REAL ID for boarding a commercial aircraft, accessing federal facilities, and entering nuclear power plants,” the Department of Homeland Security said.

Five states that issue EDL/EIDs — Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington.

Another difference is that the enhanced ID will allow some foreign travel while a simple Real ID license is only for use domestically.

What happens if I have an Enhanced ID, but it doesn’t have a star?

Enhanced IDs with a star or flag are automatically Real ID-compliant because they meet the Department of Homeland Security standards.

“According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, TSA agents at airports will recognize enhanced licenses or enhanced IDs as valid REAL ID documents, even without the star,” the Michigan secretary of state said.

If your ID does not include either versions of the star, the U.S. flag, or the word “ENHANCED” at the top of the card then it will not be accepted as proof of identity to board the plane, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.

How can you get Real ID in Michigan?

Book an appointment at your local secretary of state office to update your ID. Make sure you have these following documents with you:

Your current Michigan driver’s license or ID.
A valid, unexpired U.S. passport, birth certificate, or other proof of legal presence document.
A certified legal name-change document, if your name is different from what is on your birth certificate.

You can book an appointment online through the state’s website or call (888) 767-6424.

Who needs a Real ID in Michigan?

Anyone planning to board a domestic flight or access federal facilities, military bases or nuclear power plants needs a Real ID. International travel will continue to require a passport, which also serves as Real ID compliant identification for domestic flights.

What are some Real ID alternatives?

TSA-approved Real ID alternatives include:

U.S. passport
U.S. passport card
DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
Border crossing card
An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe
HSPD-12 PIV card
Foreign government-issued passport
Canadian provincial driver’s license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
Transportation worker identification credential
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential
Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)

How did Real ID come about?

Real ID compliance is part of a larger act passed by Congress in 2005 to set “minimum security standards” for the distribution of identification materials, including driver’s licenses, USA TODAY reported.

The law means certain federal agencies, like the Transportation Security Administration or the Department of Homeland Security, won’t be allowed to accept state-issued forms of identification that don’t include a Real ID seal.

Is DHS trying to build a database of our personal information?

REAL ID is a national set of standards, not a national identification card, DHS said. REAL ID does not create a federal database of driver license information.

Each jurisdiction continues to issue its own unique license, maintains its own records, and controls who gets access to those records and under what circumstances.

Contact Sarah Moore @ smoore@lsj.com

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Michigan

Northern Michigan lake drained after dam failure in Alcona County

Published

2 hours ago

April 17, 2026

Press Room

Northern Michigan lake drained after dam failure in Alcona County

Barton City — This week’s flooding across northern Michigan is being blamed for the collapse of a privately owned dam in Alcona County, washing away the small lake that the structure held back.

Buck’s Pond was reduced to mud this week after its privately owned dam failed, destroying the gravel road over the 94-year-old dam structure.

The dam burst around 8 p.m. Monday, sending all of the water in Buck’s Pond north through Comstock Creek to Hubbard Lake, a large recreational boating lake in Alcona County that’s ringed by summer cottages and year-round homes, said James Plohg, who owns property on the lake.

“As it was rising, it started like just washing little parts of it away,” Plohg told The Detroit News on Thursday. “And then it just got so big that it wasn’t able to contain it. And it just opened up.”

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy classifies the Buck’s Pond Dam as a low-hazard dam because its rupture has little downstream impact on other water infrastructure and property.

Lakes in the Green Association, a local homeowners group, owned the dam, according to state records.

It was last inspected in August 2017, according to records in the Michigan Dam Inventory, the state’s catalog of data on the ownership, age and condition of 2,552 dams scattered across Michigan’s Lower and Upper peninsulas.

State records indicate the dam was in “satisfactory” condition, able to withstand a 100-year flood and that it “meets applicable tolerable risk criteria.”

Plohg said the demise of the Buck’s Pond Dam will leave a hole in his and his neighbors’ remote corner of rural Alcona County, located between Oscoda and Alpena.

Plohg said he’s been in contact with state lawmakers who represent Alcona County, hoping they could secure state funding to rebuild the dam — and restore Buck’s Pond.

“It was beautiful,” Plohg told The News. “I mean, people come here to fish. There’s the beach over there. Little kids came to swim, picnics, meetings, a lot of boats, pontoons go around the island. We had (boat) parades on the lake. It’s not much of nothing right now.”

“This doesn’t describe how nice it used to be,” Plohg added.

clivengood@detroitnews.com

DavidG@detroitnews.com

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Michigan

Michigan man didn’t turn right on red. So another driver hit him with ax, police say

Published

14 hours ago

April 16, 2026

Press Room

Michigan man didn’t turn right on red. So another driver hit him with ax, police say

70-year-old man arrested, faces assault charge

GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, Mich. – A Michigan man was struck with an ax after not turning right at a red light at an intersection on Tuesday, according to police.

Just before 2 p.m. on April 14, a 74-year-old man driving near the intersection of Woodmere and Hannah in Grand Traverse County sat through a red light instead of turning right, Local 4’s NBC affiliate in Traverse City reported.

Police said a 70-year-old Traverse City man was in a car behind the 74-year-old man and followed him to the Traverse Area District Library,

Once the 74-year-old man got out of his car, the 70-year-old man allegedly approached him and attacked him with an ax, injuring the 74-year-old in his left upper arm. Both men then left the area.

The 74-year-old man drove himself to a local hospital and is being treated for his non-life-threatening injuries.

The 70-year-old man was later arrested at his home and faces a charge of assault to do great bodily harm.

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Michigan

What we know about the tornadoes that hit southeast Michigan overnight

Published

1 day ago

April 16, 2026

Press Room

What we know about the tornadoes that hit southeast Michigan overnight

Cleanup continued Wednesday after overnight storms spawned two EF-1 tornadoes in Southeast Michigan, toppling trees, damaging homes and businesses in Downriver communities, and leaving some neighborhoods without power for hours.

The National Weather Service confirmed one tornado tracked through the Ann Arbor area in Washtenaw County around 1:44 a.m. near Jackson Avenue and Interstate 94.

A second tornado touched down near the Allen Park and Lincoln Park border in Wayne County around 2:14 a.m.

In Garden City, strong winds snapped a large tree and brought down power lines, briefly sparking a small grass fire, resident Susan Steffke said.

“I got an alert to take cover, and I got up and split second, it was raining and thundering and lightning,” Steffke said.

Steffke said the fallen tree blocked a side street, and wires hung into her backyard.

“The tree totally was across the side street, and I had wires in my backyard, hanging down, and the telephone pole got split in half, and the top half was laying on the sidewalk,” Steffke said.

Neighbors nearby were without power for hours after the storm, said Garden City resident Julie Feinthel, who said electricity went out around 3 a.m. and returned just before 4:30 p.m.

“DTE was working around the clock to get it back up,” Feinthel said.

In Downriver, the Wayne County tornado crossed Dix Highway into Melvindale, the weather service said, snapping trees and causing damage that included roofs, windows, and HVAC equipment.

The storms also brought heavy rain and flooding, submerging flood-prone stretches of Gibraltar in southern Wayne County.

Bayview Drive in Gibraltar was closed as crews set up an additional pump to help drain standing water, officials said.

“Not much you can do, hopefully they pump it out or what have you, but it’s the first time the street’s been blocked,” said Gibraltar resident Gary Gagne.

No deaths or injuries were reported in connection with either tornado, according to the National Weather Service.

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