TSA adds $45 fee for travelers without REAL ID
Beginning in May, travelers were required to have federal-standard REAL ID licenses and ID cards. TSA is implementing a new $45 fee for those still without compliant identification that will cover 10 days of travel.
A winter storm brought up to a foot of snow to parts of Iowa this weekend, creating travel trouble near Iowa City with overturned semi-trucks, crashes and stalled vehicles.
U.S. travelers who wish to fly without a REAL ID will pay a $45 fee beginning in February, after the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) introduced a new payment option for people without acceptable identification.
The “Confirm.ID” option begins on Feb. 1 for travelers without a REAL ID or passport. According to a news release, the $45 fee will allow travelers to establish their identity at security checkpoints and will cover a 10-day travel period.
Beginning in May 2025, TSA started requiring travelers to use federal-standard REAL ID licenses and ID cards for domestic travel, or present a U.S. passport. The agency said 94% of travelers already have REAL IDs or other acceptable identification.
Travelers pass a REAL ID information placard at Boston Logan International Airport on May 7, 2025. (Photo by Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Previously, passengers without a REAL ID were subject to additional screening before being allowed through security. Now, that extra time will cost travelers $45 — and potentially longer wait times.
“TSA expects increased wait times for passengers who do not provide an acceptable ID,” according to a news release.
The agency said the new Confirm.ID process will vary by airport and that TSA is working to offer online payment options.
REAL ID is a federal security standard for state-issued identification cards created more than 20 years ago after 9/11 to strengthen ID requirements for flights and federal facilities. A REAL ID-compliant license or ID card has a star, either gold or black, in the upper portion of the document.
“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,” Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Administrator for TSA Adam Stahl said in a statement. “This fee ensures the cost to cover verification of an insufficient ID will come from the traveler, not the taxpayer.”
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