(ABC 6 News) – In just three months, the nation’s REAL ID deadline will come and, despite years of delays, the TSA says this is it – kind of.

The program, approved in 2005, will set federal standards for identification instead of states choosing their own standards.

However, the adoption of Real ID’s has been incredibly slow nationwide.

Only 56% of Americans currently have a Real ID, under the latest TSA data.

Here in Minnesota, that number is 40%.

So while the official deadline is still May 7, and agencies do plan on enforcing that, TSA officials say enforcement will be flexible.

“We don’t really know what that means for at the checkpoint yet,” said the TSA’s Great Lakes regional spokesperson Jessica Mayle. “So I don’t know want people to think, ‘Oh on May 7 if I don’t have it, everything’s fine,’ because we just don’t know what those enforcement flexibilities will look like. At minimum I think people could see delays.”

That means anyone still holding out on a Real ID after the deadline could be prevented from crossing checkpoints at airports when traveling domestically or federal buildings, or at the very least will need to go through extra steps to verify their identity.

Real ID’s aren’t the only documents that will let you do that though.

U.S. passports, which are already federally regulated, will count the same as a Real ID and can be used for domestic air travel and accessing federal buildings.

The same is true for state-issued Enhanced Driver’s Licenses, tribal ID’s, permanent resident cards, and others.

Current processing times are about 31 days between applying for and receiving a Real ID, though that could change if a surge of applications come in ahead of the May 7 deadline.

If you still haven’t gotten your Real ID, you can find more information on that process and what documents you need through the state Department of Public Safety.