Airline travelers who arrive at airport security checkpoints without a REAL ID license or another accepted form of identification will soon have a new option — but it comes with a new cost.
Starting Feb. 1, the Transportation Security Administration will begin charging a $45 fee to passengers who do not have a REAL ID or any of the acceptable alternatives but still want to proceed through security using an alternative identity verification process, according to a news release from the Transportation Security Administration
Here’s what you should know:
Breaking News
What is changing
REAL ID enforcement began nationwide in May 2025, requiring travelers to show the upgraded driver’s license or another acceptable identification, such as a U.S. passport, to board domestic flights.
Until now, travelers without compliant identification were typically allowed to undergo additional screening without a charge. Under the new policy, that extra screening will incur a fee.
What the $45 fee covers
The fee allows travelers to use TSA’s ConfirmID option, which involves additional identity verification and screening at the checkpoint.
TSA says the charge is intended to put the cost of the extra screening on the airline traveler rather than passing it on more broadly to taxpayers.
How travelers can pay
Passengers can pay the $45 fee in advance online through TSA’s ConfirmID portal and bring a digital or printed receipt to the airport.
Travelers who arrive without a REAL ID and without having paid the fee may experience longer delays while their identity is verified, which could lead to missed flights, the TSA warns.
Who will be affected?
TSA says about 94% of travelers already carry REAL ID-compliant identification or another accepted document. Those travelers will not be affected by the fee.
Accepted IDs include:
REAL ID-compliant driver’s licensesU.S. passportsMilitary IDsOther federally approved identification