Fermilab, Argonne to require REAL ID of visitors starting Wednesday

If you want to visit the bison or the prairie at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, you will need to present REAL ID-compliant identification starting Wednesday.

The Department of Energy announced the requirement this week. It applies to all visitors 18 and older, whether they enter by car, on foot, or by bicycle.

Security workers at Fermilab's two entry gates will ask drivers and all adult passengers in a vehicle to show such identification. Acceptable identification includes a REAL ID driver's license or identification card and passports.

Fermilab outdoor public areas are open from sunrise to sunset. The Lederman Science Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.

A school identification card that has a photo is acceptable for visitors who are 16 or 17 years old.

The rules also apply to visitors to Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont.

For more information about the sites' entry policies, including lists of acceptable identification, visit fnal.gov and anl.gov.

The federal REAL ID Act was passed in 2005, but full implementation has been delayed repeatedly. Illinois began issuing REAL ID licenses and identification cards in 2019.