It has been decades in the making, but the government deadline to get a Real ID is nearly here.

That deadline is Wednesday. May 7.

The regulations for the new ID have been in place since Congress passed a law back in 2005 tightening the guidelines to board airplanes. The law was first introduced in Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The new IDs have a security-enhanced star in the upper right-hand corner to show they are compliant with the law.

The members of the 9/11 Commission felt having a national standard identification would, hopefully, make it harder for people to get driver’s licenses.

Since 2005, the government has issued several extensions when it comes to implementing the law, but there’s likely no chance the government will issue another extension beyond May 7 for the new IDs.

The IDs — which in many states reflect a new style of driver’s license or ID and are nationally approved — were supposed to go into effect in 2023. But many state government motor vehicle administrations, or DMVs, said they needed more time because of backlogs of paperwork to process the IDs.

Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration Administrator Chrissy Nizer talked to WTOP’s Shawn Anderson and Anne Kramer to explain what the ID does and what you need to do to be compliant before the deadline.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.