No REAL ID yet? TSA fee and ConfirmID rules start this weekend

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A new TSA process for passengers who lack a REAL ID will begin on Sunday, adding a $45 fee for travelers 18 and older who fly domestically without a REAL ID or another TSA-accepted form of identification, the Department of Homeland Security said. The agency said the change is intended to encourage compliance with the federal REAL ID requirements and to shift the cost of identity verification for non-compliant travelers away from taxpayers.

Under the ConfirmID option, travelers without the star-marked REAL ID on their driver’s license—or another accepted form of identification—can pay for an alternate identity verification method at the airport. Paying the fee, however, does not guarantee that identity will be verified in time to get through airport security, and passengers whose identities cannot be verified may be turned away at the checkpoint, according to TSA.

REAL ID is a federally compliant state-issued driver’s license or identification card that meets enhanced requirements that were mandated after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The updated ID is indicated by a white star in a yellow circle on licenses issued in most states, and while it has been required since May, travelers who lacked it were still allowed through security with extra screening and a warning before the new fee takes effect.

For travelers who need ConfirmID, TSA said the $45 service fee applies to those flying domestically who are 18 and older and do not have proper identification with them. TSA said the verification, if approved, covers travel for a 10-day period, meaning a traveler who completes the process for one trip can use it through the following ten days.

TSA said the ConfirmID service fee can be paid online at tsa.gov/ConfirmID, where travelers enter their legal name and the start date of their travel. The agency said accepted payment methods include debit and credit cards and also payment platforms such as Venmo and PayPal, and it said someone other than the traveler can make the payment as long as the traveler’s information is entered correctly. After payment, TSA said travelers receive an emailed payment receipt from pay.gov.

At the airport checkpoint, TSA said passengers must show a government-issued ID along with a digital or printed copy of the ConfirmID receipt to begin the verification process. The agency also recommended that travelers pay the fee before arriving at the airport because the verification alone could take up to 30 minutes, potentially affecting departure plans.

TSA said the fee is meant to shift costs and to manage screening throughput, quoting Adam Stahl, acting TSA deputy administrator. “This fee ensures that non-compliant travelers, not taxpayers, cover the cost of processing travelers without acceptable IDs,” Stahl said.

The agency also pointed travelers to other identification options besides a REAL ID. TSA said it accepts digital IDs through platforms including Apple Wallet and Google Wallet at more than 250 airport checkpoints in the United States, and it maintains a list of acceptable IDs on its website. Those accepted documents include a passport or passport card, permanent resident cards, trusted traveler cards such as Global Entry or NEXUS, military IDs, and photo IDs from federally recognized tribal nations.