Airline passengers who don’t possess a REAL ID or passport should soon expect to pay an additional fee to get through airport security.
Starting on Feb. 1, travelers who do not present an acceptable form of identification can verify their identity through the Transportation Security Administration’s alternative identity verification system, known as Confirm ID. However, a $45 fee will be assessed for using the system.
Travelers will be able to fill out the form and pay the fee online through pay.gov. before getting to the airport, or they can do so at the airport through a different line.
The identity verification will be valid for 10 days once approved. After that period, travelers without a REAL ID or passport will need to pay the fee again if they travel.
The whole confirmation process will take about 10 to 15 minutes, but can be as long as 30 minutes or more, depending on verification requirements and airport security wait times, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said.
Roughly a week before federal officials announced the $45 fee in December, the TSA proposed an $18 fee for travelers without a REAL ID. In a Nov. 20 notice published in the Federal Register, the TSA explained the fee was needed to fund the “modernized alternative identity verification program.” However, the agency later said that subsequent analysis showed that the actual expenses associated with the Confirm ID system were greater than initially projected.
The fee will cover operational, technological, and administrative costs associated with verifying a traveler’s identity.
The REAL ID Act was signed into law in 2005, but it didn’t start being enforced until earlier this year following a number of delays. Under the law, travelers are required to have a REAL ID-compliant license or another form of acceptable identification to get through security for a domestic flight.
For those who don’t have a REAL ID, here are accepted forms of identification to board a domestic flight:
- State-issued Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) or Enhanced ID (EID)
- U.S. passport
- U.S. passport card
- DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
- U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
- Permanent resident card
- Border crossing card
- An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe, including 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)
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