BIDDEFORD — To help make it easier for area residents to apply for a U.S, passport, the Biddeford Post Office at 100 Alfred St. will offer extended hours for that purpose on Saturday, Nov. 17.

Postal clerks in Biddeford will be available to process applications and take photographs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and no appointments are necessary.

Routine passport processing times can be up to a period of six months, Post Office officials say. This takes on additional importance because starting in the next few years, some states will implement the new REAL ID Act.

Under that law, representatives of the T.S.A. will ask all travelers who don’t have a driver’s license from a compliant state or a state that has been granted an extension to the compliance deadline to produce an alternative form of acceptable identification, such as a U.S. passport.

Travelers won’t be able to pass through security checkpoints without this acceptable identification in some locations.

Maine’s Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued Maine another waiver for compliance with the REAL ID Act which was passed by Congress after the 2001 terrorist attacks to strengthen rules for government-sanctioned identification. It sets minimum standards for government-issued identification cards that are required to enter certain areas in federal buildings or board commercial airplanes.

Dunlap’s office says Maine’s waiver will be valid through Oct. 1, 2019, but the Department of Homeland Security will not be enforcing REAL ID Act requirements until Oct. 1, 2020. That means Maine driver’s licenses will be valid for federal purposes, including boarding commercial aircraft until that date.

Portland International Airport Director Paul Bradbury said that airport officials are working with Dunlap’s office to eventually provide information on acquiring a driver’s license that complies with REAL ID standards. The standards include adding anti-counterfeit technology such as a hologram to driver’s licenses.

Maine was the first state to opt out of the REAL ID requirement more than a decade ago, but in April, Republican Gov. Paul LePage signed a bill into law directing the state to issue new REAL ID compliant drivers licenses and non-driver identification cards.

The Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles is implementing systems and procedures needed to issue REAL ID licenses and identification materials starting on July 1, 2019.

A passport is now required for all international travel by air and to enter the United States at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.

Passport applicants must complete the application forms and bring an original proof of citizenship document and an acceptable photo identification document. They must also have their passport photo taken and pay all applicable passport fees.

During Saturday’s extended hours, the U.S. Post Office will accept first-time passport applications for the United States Department of State and offer services for both first-time and renewal passport applications.

— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 or by email at editor@journaltribune.com.