The deadline to secure a new REAL ID driver's license has been pushed back yet again.

The delay is the third for the new identification program, which will now take effect on May 7, 2025.

The Department said in a release announcing the delay that this will allow states to "have additional time to ensure their residents have driver's licenses and identification cards that meet the security standards established by the REAL ID Act."

Once the new law takes effect, federal agencies like the TSA "will be prohibited from accepting driver's licenses and identification cards that do not meet these federal standards," the release added.

The program's progress has been delayed significantly by backlogs created by the pandemic at Department of Motor Vehicles locations nationwide.