Starting February 1 , TSA will charge any airline passenger $45 if they do not have a REAL ID or another acceptable form of identification.
The fee can be paid online prior to going through security or even from home.
Before anyone asks what the other acceptable forms of ID are....here's a list from the TSA:
https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification
Normally I hate to see fees like this, but this time is the exception. People have literally had years to get their Real ID ready. The amount of this fee makes going to get the new drivers license etc a more desirable option since the cost may be about the same and could motivate some of the last holdouts.
Not only do the miscreants have to shell out the money but they can lose a lot of time getting clearance. About 15 or more years ago you could not renew your Florida driver license unless you brought the necessary documentation for getting a Real ID.
I paid enough for my passport, it works just fine. :-)
That's right, Margie...passport, passport card, Global Entry/Nexus card, military ID, and a lot of other things can be used for ID besides the REAL ID.
So if they pay the $45, do they get to go through even though they don't have an acceptable form of identification? That seems counterproductive.
Can I use a surreal ID? A selfie I took of myself at the Salvador Dali museum?
Surely someplace in the fine print there has to be respect for great art....
Happy travels
I think I heard that if you do not have some form of acceptable "real id" or alternative, they will pull you aside and do some additional computer based background checks, taking 10 or 20 minutes. THAT is what the fee is paying for according to a news blurb I heard last week. That part is being left out of most of the news stories I have seen this week...
The fee is paying for technology and systems that have existed for YEARS.
Yes, I have flown home with NO ID :) (Lost my wallet....)
Paying the fee is not a "Get Out of Jail" free card. It is paying for the extra background check that has to be done.
This past October I was behind a father and adult-40-ish daughter combo in the pre-check line. She went first, handed over her presumably Real ID and he went second and was promptly stopped and asked if he had another form of ID like a passport. He said no. She looked highly annoyed. The TSA agent explained the requirements and asked again. Dad still said no. Dad was asked to step aside and I went through so didn't see the full aftermath except to see someone else coming over who presumably conducted a secondary screening. I think I was more annoyed with the daughter who appeared to be leading a less experienced flyer. Why didn't she make sure he had a Real ID?
Why didn't she make sure he had a Real ID?
Maybe she tried but refused to get one.
The alternative identification processing is only valid for `a 10 day period. A 2 week domestic trip would cost those without Real ID $45 each way.
That's interesting. Jean. It would definitely make sense to get the REAL ID if you don't have a passport.
And Frank, thanks for the information on what the $45 is for. That makes a lot of sense .
When I finally applied in person for the Real ID at the DMV in SF after years of procrastinating, it arrived in the mail exactly 2 weeks later.
Getting the Real ID cost me nothing, no fee at all. I have it on me whenever I'm out and about.
Wow, Fred, mine (Minnesota) took 4 months to process. Fortunately I also had a passport to fall back on.
Why didn't she make sure he had a Real ID?
Maybe she tried but he refused to get one.
The dad looked more confused than obstinate.
A lot of people around here are waiting for their current un-Real license to expire before upgrading. In my state, if you upgrade early, the new Real license expires at the same time as the old license would have.
And of course a lot of people object out of principle.
I jumped to global entry, but I believe pre-check requires a passport or birth certificate be shown to sign up, therefore that person is already proven to be "real ID."
Wow, Fred, mine (Minnesota) took 4 months to process. Fortunately I also had a passport to fall back on.
Haven't they been available for like 7 years? Procrastination.
Myself, I am kind of surprised they just did not say, "no verifiable ID (RealID, Passport or related) no flying" . Why offer an "Out" for cash?
Haven't they been available for like 7 years? Procrastination
No procrastination here. I applied/made the appt. as soon as my renewal came up this year (2 months before expiration.) Could have tried the last time it came up but it was during COVID and such a mess to get in to do it in person that I just updated my standard license online, as was allowed during the plague.
Why offer an "Out" for cash?
There are many people in this country that are not "travelers". Not everyone drives and therefore may not have a driver's license. They may never have needed a state issued ID to get by in life. Then one day there is an emergency, perhaps a death in the family, and they need to get on a plane for the first time ever. They need some recourse to get through TSA so they can fly.
Agency will refer passengers to the fee-based TSA “Confirm.ID” payment option if they do not present a valid, acceptable ID at checkpoints
National Press Release
Monday, December 1, 2025
WASHINGTON – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced today that it will refer all passengers who do not present an acceptable form of ID and still want to fly an option to pay a $45 fee to use a modernized alternative identity verification system, TSA Confirm.ID, to establish identity at security checkpoints beginning on February 1, 2026.
Travelers will be able to pay $45 to use TSA Confirm.ID for a 10-day travel period
This fee ensures the cost to cover verification of an insufficient ID will come from the traveler, not the taxpayer
https://www.tsa.gov/news/press/releases/2025/12/01/tsa-introduces-new-45-fee-option-for-travelers-without-real-id
The folks will not just 'pay a fee'. They will be scrutinized.
Cannot find it now, but saw that the fee is not refundable in case you 'flunk'
I think this is being over blown a lot. Our local TV reported that over 90% of the population has a real ID. I think this is kind of a kick in the butt to few remaining holdouts. The orginal holdup has a small group of people in several states who objected to the idea of a national id. It makes a lot of sense to have a standard id. A REAL ID does not imply some type of screening or vetting of the holder. Just a state issued id that complies with a standard for how the info is presented. But all this discussion made me check the expiration date on my driver license. My next renewal puts me on the five year plan.
Every state will have a different date of availability of a REAL ID - I got my NYS EDL in 2011....
In Texas the cost to renew you DL is $25 why anyone would not want a Real ID compliant ID is beyond me. Actually, in my state they have been issuing compliant DLs since 2016 so the chance to protest is long gone.
No procrastination here.
Sorry the dates didn’t work for you. Way back in 2018 my license was to expire 2 months before Real ID became available in MN and since the need for Real ID was supposedly imminent (one of the dozen Real ID deadlines ultimately pushed off) and I needed to fly for work I went to the driver’s license testing course in Eagan and paid the extra $15 for an enhanced (Real ID compliant) driver’s license. Qualifying for that was substantially more paperwork than getting a passport. I used my state professional license (1 of about 4 pieces of ID required including a passport, a birth certificate, and a utility bill), I remember the guy said he’d never seen anyone qualify with a state issued professional license before. It had my address on it and I had to prove my address.
If I had to do it again I would have just let the license expire, driven illegally, and renewed it a few months later. The $15 fee surcharge I repay every 4 years now.
Washington has had EDL for 10+ years. When the program first came out one had to bring a box full of documents, even if one of them was a US passport. It was much easier and cheaper to get a Passport Card than the EDL back then.
When I renewed my driver license this year, the process was much simpler. My expiring license, passport card and voter registration card did the job to qualify for the EDL. The state charges $7 year more for the EDL vs. a 'regular' license. The state gives you the choice of a 6 yr or 8 yr license. Had the new license in less than 2 weeks.
With 50 states, I suspect there are at least 49 variations of fees and requirements.
The $45 fee should push most of those currently without REAL ID who want to fly to go get it, rather than get $pecial treatment at the airport every time they fly.
@ Kate....I was using the passport too when ID was called for, such as at hotel check-in, buying the train ticket from Amtrak, etc I finally decided to get the Real ID ending my years of procrastination after seeing the absolute deadline date in May of 2025.
Myself, I am kind of surprised they just did not say, "no verifiable ID (RealID, Passport or related) no flying" . Why offer an "Out" for cash?
So when I lost my wallet in Texas I was suppose to walk home? (Can't rent a car without a Driver's License)
They do need to have a way to let you on the plane when something like that happens.
I got my realID in Georgia when this mess first started. Took my PILE of paperwork to the counter... she looked at the passport and was done. I really wanted to ask her to go through all that stuff to make me feel like putting it all together was not a total waste of time (which it was, but if I hadn't had it she would have wanted every piece of it)
Colorado joined the program earlier and I have had the Real ID for maybe 10 years or more. I don't remember going through any special hoop either but may have and just don't remember. The biggest advantage to the new Real ID driver's license is stamping it with the Army crest/ID and Veteran. Not sure how they got that information but it has been handy for discounts and free meals especially on Veteran's Day. For me that has been the best deal. And the from time to time the TSA officer acknowledges that veteran status and I move a little quick in the line.
