No Real ID? No Problem! TSA to Roll Out Alternative Identity Verification Method for Air Travel

The Transportation Security Administration is preparing to roll out a new method for travelers to confirm their identity if they do not have a Real ID or a passport. For a $45 fee, domestic air travelers can prove their identity ahead of scheduled travel through the TSA Confirm ID process.  

Providing travelers who do not have a passport or a Real ID with another option to confirm their identity is part of the Transportation Security Administration’s “multilayered security approach,” a senior TSA official told press during a phone call Monday. The new option maintains TSA’s standards, the official said, and ensures the agency will keep “bad actors off the airplanes” and that TSA knows the true identity of all passengers.  

Beginning on Feb. 1, travelers who have yet to obtain a Real ID or another acceptable form of identification can visit pay.gov or TSA.gov to use the new identification process. The Confirm ID application, according to TSA officials, will typically take about 10 to 15 minutes to complete, but could take up to 30 minutes. 

TSA is encouraging travelers to complete the process ahead of time, but it can be done at the airport. TSA warns this could lead to travel delays for the individual. The $45 fee is nonrefundable even if the application is denied or the traveler misses their flight.  

Once a traveler completes the Confirm ID process, they can proceed to the TSA security checkpoint and present the agent with the receipt for the application. An approved Confirm ID is good for 10 days from the first day of travel. 

TSA officials stressed that taxpayers will not be saddled with the cost of the new program, but expenses for operating and processing the new identification travel option will be covered by the $45 fee.  

TSA is working with the airlines to help facilitate the new process and make travelers aware of the option ahead of the Feb. 1 implementation. The new identification system will remain in place indefinitely, according to senior TSA officials.  

In May, TDS began enforcing the new Real ID policy. A Real ID is a traditional state driver’s license that meets new, higher standards of security. The physical card has a small gold star in the top right corner.  

Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the U.S., the 9/11 Commission recommended that the federal government raise security standards through identification cards. In 2005, Congress passed the REAL ID Act.

More than 3 million people fly domestically in the U.S. every day, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. While about 94% of U.S. travelers are compliant with the new travel guidelines that took effect in the spring, senior TSA officials say they are working toward 100% compliance and hope the TSA Confirm ID process will remind more Americans to schedule time at the DMV to acquire their Real ID card. 

Children under the age of 18 are not required to present an ID at the security checkpoint.  

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