{"id":135541,"date":"2026-02-16T21:58:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T21:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/135541\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T21:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T21:58:09","slug":"real-id-compliance-reaches-95-at-airports-after-45-fee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/135541\/","title":{"rendered":"Real ID compliance reaches 95% at airports after $45 fee"},"content":{"rendered":"

More flyers are using Real ID documents needed for domestic air travel after a new program launched on Feb. 1 to charge $45 for identity verification for travelers <\/a>without Real ID documents. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been really successful,\u201d said R. Carter Langston, a Transportation Security Administration spokesperson.<\/p>\n

So far between 95% to 99% of travelers have presented documents nationally that comply with the federal Real ID act, he said. Newark Liberty Airport is in line with the national statistics, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re coming through with state issued Real ID or other acceptable IDs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Accepted documents include state-issued Real ID driver\u2019s licenses and ID cards, passports, Global Entry cards, and other federal IDs.<\/p>\n

These documents all meet the federal requirements established by a law passed in 2005 after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Rules requiring domestic air travelers to show a Real ID document took effect on May 7, 2025. <\/p>\n

While New Jersey trails other states in Real ID licenses and ID cards used, more state residents hold passports and use that document at TSA checkpoints, officials said. <\/p>\n

Most flyers who need to use the new Confirm ID program are arriving at TSA checkpoint having prepaid the $45 fee, Langston said. <\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the passengers are coming after they paid the fee online,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has no impact on the operation of security lines.\u201d <\/p>\n

Langston credited a joint education program between the TSA, airlines and airport operators reminding flyers to bring a Real ID document to the airport and about Confirm ID. <\/p>\n

Signs were posted at Newark Airport, alerting travelers without a Real ID to the Confirm ID program and displaying QR codes to take them to the payment website. <\/p>\n

Confirm ID streamlines the process the TSA created in March 2025<\/a> for travelers who did not have a Real ID document. That was a more lengthy process that involved putting the traveler on a phone call to a federal Identity Verification and Command Center to answer questions to prove their identity.<\/p>\n

Travelers can check the TSA website for a list of all accepted identification documents that meet the federal Real ID act standards<\/a>, Langston said.<\/p>\n

Concerns about the Confirm ID program and difficulty New Jersey drivers have getting timely Real ID appointments led U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., to ask the state Motor Vehicle Commission to increase<\/a> Real ID appointment availability.<\/p>\n

Gottheimer asked Acting MVC Chief Administrator Rosalie Johnson in a Feb. 6 letter to \u201cexpand appointment capacity statewide, extend evening and weekend hours, deploy mobile and pop-up Real ID services, and pursue other creative solutions.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cNow facing a costly penalty, far too many residents still cannot secure appointments to get a Real ID in New Jersey,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While there are plenty of available appointments, the earliest available appointment may be months away at certain MVC agencies, Gottheimer said.<\/p>\n

Gov. Mikie Sherrill<\/a> nominated Johnson in January<\/a>, citing a 97% Real ID compliance rate in Colorado where she was deputy senior director of that state\u2019s Department of Motor Vehicles.<\/p>\n

MVC officials said that new Acting Chief Johnson has hit the ground running and plans a data-driven review to \u201coptimize how Real IDs are issued.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More flyers are using Real ID documents needed for domestic air travel after a new program launched on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135542,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-135541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}