Transportation Security Administration workers screen travelers at the Portland International Jetport on May 7, the first day officials began enforcing Real ID requirements. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer)

The Maine Secretary of State’s Office has confirmed some Real ID-compliant driver’s licenses issued by the state have not been accepted by Transportation Security Administration screeners at airports.

It’s unclear how many newly issued licenses are faulty, and the state motor vehicle office is relying on people to self-report issues in order to send out replacement cards.

The TSA started requiring passengers to provide a Real ID-compliant driver’s license or identification card for domestic flights and for access to some federal facilities as of May 7.

Between Jan. 1 and July 1, Maine issued more than 89,430 Real IDs, and Bureau of Motor Vehicle offices were overwhelmed with people looking to make the switch to a Real ID before the deadline or their next travel date. Prior to the federal mandate, Maine had one of the lowest rates of Real ID compliance at 27%. That figure rose to 32% by July 1.

By June, some Maine passengers were having issues at TSA checkpoints, with the scanners unable to read the data, or information not coming up correctly with Maine Real ID cards. A post to social media platform Reddit highlighted two separate incidents where Hertz rejected the poster’s Maine license because it would not scan, then days later the poster reported his Real ID compliant license was rejected by a TSA screener at Boston’s Logan Airport.

“The TSA agent subsequently told me that my license information was only returning my age. No name, no birthday, no other information, but my age,” the poster wrote.

Other posters wrote they, too, had encountered problems with their Real IDs being scanned at various airports. Asked if this was a widespread problem, an official at the Maine Department of the Secretary of State responded, “A few customers have reached out to say that TSA was unable to properly scan the bar codes on their Real IDs and that TSA suggested the customers contact BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles) when they returned from their trip for a replacement. None experienced a disruption in their travel.”

The secretary of state’s office told the Sun Journal in an email that BMV officials worked with the TSA to identify the issue preventing those cards — which were instant issue cards — from being scanned by TSA’s equipment, and that it is replacing any faulty IDs at no cost. The office said it doesn’t now how many cards were issued with the improper scanning mechanism.

Anyone who is flagged by TSA about problems with their Real ID should contact the BMV at [email protected] and a new card will be mailed to them at no cost.

The TSA is encouraging anyone who plans to fly domestically and is concerned that their Real ID license will not scan properly to carry an acceptable alternate form of identification. TSA lists the following as acceptable:

• State-issued Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) or Enhanced ID (EID)
• 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
• Permanent resident card
• Border crossing card
• An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe, including Enhanced Tribal Cards (ETCs)
• HSPD-12 PIV card
• Foreign government-issued passport
• Canadian provincial driver’s license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
• Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
• U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential
• Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)

A temporary driver’s license is not an acceptable form of identification. TSA does not require children under 18 to provide identification when traveling within the United States.