The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will start offering travelers without acceptable identification the option to pay a $45 fee for identity verification starting February 1, 2026. The new system is called TSA Confirm.ID. It will allow passengers who lack REAL ID-compliant documents to confirm their identity at security checkpoints and continue to their flights.
The $45 fee covers a 10-day travel window. TSA officials are urging individuals without a REAL ID to make an appointment with their local DMV as early as possible.
TSA to put a price on not having a REAL ID.
Starting Feb 1, air travelers who show up without a REAL ID compliant document will have to pay a $45 fee covering a 10-day travel window.
Roughly 94% of flyers already use acceptable ID. pic.twitter.com/JtaETITZgZ
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) December 1, 2025
Acceptable identification includes REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses, state-issued Enhanced Driver’s licenses, U.S. Passports, DHS trusted traveler cards such as Global Entry, Department of Defense IDs, permanent resident cards, tribal IDs, foreign passports, and several other federally approved documents. Temporary driver’s licenses do not qualify.
Travelers who show up without one of the approved IDs, including those carrying non-REAL ID state licenses, will be sent to the optional Confirm.ID process before they can enter the main security line. TSA says the exact procedures may vary by airport and that it is working with private partners to enable online payment before travelers arrive.
REAL ID has been federal law for two decades, but implementation lagged until enforcement began on May 7, 2025, under the Trump administration and then South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, according to TSA.
More than 94 percent of passengers currently present acceptable ID, but TSA warns that those who don’t should expect slower processing.
Adam Stahl, the Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Administrator for TSA, said, “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.”
4/ Only 81% of Americans have REAL ID-compliant cards so far, despite having 20 years of warnings.
Other acceptable IDs include:
• Enhanced driver’s licenses (NY, WA, MI, MN, VT)
• Global Entry
• NEXUS
• Green cards pic.twitter.com/EIeUtRkTJn
— Rod D. Martin (@RodDMartin) May 8, 2025
He further 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 that 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.”
TSA is urging travelers to pay the fee online in advance. Those who wait until they reach the airport will find instructions at marked areas near most checkpoints, though the agency warns that on-site processing will take additional time.
A full list of acceptable IDs is available at TSA.gov, and all REAL ID-related information can be found at TSA.gov/real-id or through AskTSA by texting 275-872 or messaging @AskTSA.
