TSA issues $45 fee and urgent warning for | Travel News

Travelers flying with out a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or passport will now have an option to pay a fee to be able to get by airport security. 

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) introduced Monday, Dec. 1, that air vacationers who don’t current an acceptable type of ID and nonetheless need to fly can choose to pay a $45 fee to make use of a modernized various id verification system — which is named Confirm ID — to be able to set up their id at security factors beginning on Feb. 1, 2026. 

The TSA is urging all passengers flying with out a REAL ID to pay the fee online to be able to journey. Passengers with out a REAL ID can fill out a type online forward of their flight by pay.gov or pay the fee on the airport by a separate line. 

The TSA says that when vacationers are accepted and pay the fee, the id verification might be legitimate for a 10-day journey period. 

After the 10-day period is up, vacationers with out a REAL ID or passport must pay the $45 fee again to get by airport security. 

The TSA is urging vacationers with out a REAL ID to schedule an appointment on the native DMV to replace their ID to satisfy the suitable identification varieties for airport security. 

While over 94% of passengers already use their REAL ID or different acceptable varieties of identification, the TSA expects wait occasions at airport security to increase for passengers who do not present an acceptable ID. 

This information comes a week after the TSA floated the thought of charging passengers with out a REAL ID $18 to journey. Officials reported that extra evaluation of the price for the Confirm ID system could be higher than initially projected, which can clarify the present $45 plan.

The fee will cowl operational, technological, and administrative prices related to this id verification system, per the Federal Register. 

How will vacationers with out a REAL ID get by airport security? 

Upon TSA check-in and earlier than coming into the airport security line, passengers touring with out a REAL ID, together with these with a non-REAL ID-compliant state driver’s license or ID, might be directed to the optionally available TSA Confirm.ID to confirm their id. 

The TSA says that this course of of id verification will fluctuate from airport to airport, however states that the “TSA is working with private industry to proactively offer online payment options prior to arrival at the airport.” 

Those who will need to bear the TSA Confirm.ID ought to count on delays for processing on the airport. 

“Identity verification is essential to traveler safety, because it keeps terrorists, criminals, and illegal aliens out of the skies and other domestic transportation systems such as rail,” mentioned Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Administrator for TSA Adam Stahl within the press release.

He added, “The vast majority of travelers present acceptable identification like REAL IDs and passports, but we must ensure everyone who flies is who they say they are. Beginning February 1, travelers who do not present an acceptable form of ID at our security checkpoints and still want to fly can pay a $45 fee and undergo the TSA Confirm.ID process. This fee ensures the cost to cover verification of an insufficient ID will come from the traveler, not the taxpayer. The security of the traveling public is our top priority, so we urge all travelers to get a REAL ID or other acceptable form of ID as soon as possible to avoid delays and potentially miss flights.”

What are acceptable varieties of ID for air journey? 

The TSA outlines that the next are acceptable varieties of ID: 

• REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses
• State-issued Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) or Enhanced ID (EID)
• U.S. passport
• U.S. passport card
• DHS trusted traveler playing cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
• U.S. Department of Defense ID, together with IDs issued to dependents
• Permanent resident card
• Border crossing card
• An acceptable photograph ID issued by a federally acknowledged Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe, together with Enhanced Tribal Cards (ETCs)
• HSPD-12 PIV card
• Foreign government-issued passport
• Canadian provincial driver’s license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
• Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
• U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential
• Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)