Starting soon, you’ll need this to enter Arlington National Cemetery in a vehicle

Those driving into Arlington National Cemetery will need to be REAL ID compliant, the facility said Wednesday.

Starting May 7, the identification is required for domestic flights and to access certain federal facilities, including the cemetery. Anyone over 18 entering Arlington National Cemetery in a vehicle should be prepared to present REAL ID at the security checkpoint.

“This applies to funeral attendees, family pass holders, honor flights, contractors who do not possess a Department of Defense (DoD) Common Access Card (CAC) or an Automated Installation (AIE) badge, family-hired photographers and florists who drive into the cemetery via Memorial Avenue, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall or the Service Complex Gate,” according to a statement from the cemetery.

Visitors who walk, take the Metro or get dropped off at the cemetery will not have to present REAL ID and will be required to go through standard physical security screening at the welcome center.

To ensure your identification is REAL ID compliant, check the upper right portion of your ID for a star. If it doesn’t have a star, it’s not REAL ID compliant.

For those who don’t have REAL ID, the cemetery will also accept the following forms of ID:

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Thomas Robertson

Thomas Robertson is an Associate Producer and Web Writer/Editor at WTOP. After graduating in 2019 from James Madison University, Thomas moved away from Virginia for the first time in his life to cover the local government beat for a small daily newspaper in Zanesville, Ohio.

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