Showing up at a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint without a REAL ID or passport will cost you an extra fee to get through airport security.
Under the new program, set to go into effect Feb. 1, passengers without adequate ID will have the option to pay $45 to use a "modernized alternative identity verification system" called TSA ConfirmID.
The process will take place prior to entering the airport security line and will "differ airport to airport," according to the TSA's announcement. Expect increased wait times.
In a public notice about the program posted Nov. 20, the federal agency originally proposed that the ID verification would involve collecting the flyer's "biographic and/or biometric information" via machines capable of carrying out functions like face and fingerprint scans. The TSA's latest info about the program doesn't mention biometrics, though.
Instead, you'll need to provide your name, address, and date of birth so that TSA officers can confirm your identity using public records and other sources. If the TSA can't confirm your identity, you won't be able to board your flight.
The nonrefundable $45 fee for the TSA's ConfirmID program will cover flyers for 10 days—they won't have to pay at other airports visited during that time.
The agency claims the purpose of the fee is to cover the costs of ID verification.
Do not take the implementation of the fee to mean that everyone is in agreement about whether it will be deemed legal in the long run. "No law authorizes this scheme," wrote longtime travel industry journalist Edward Hasbrouck in a January 15 post. "No law requires airline passengers to have, carry, or show any ID—as the TSA itself has consistently argued, at least to date, when the issue has been raised in court."
To minimize delays at the airport, you can pay the $45 fee for ConfirmID in advance online. Be sure to save a printed or electronic copy of your receipt to show a TSA officer at the start of the identity confirmation process.
Of course, the fee will not apply to travelers with acceptable forms of ID such as a valid U.S. passport or REAL ID–compliant driver's license. (For a full list of forms of ID the TSA will accept for air travel, click here).
The much-delayed REAL ID requirement finally went into effect in May 2025. Up to now, the TSA has relied on a different identity verification process for flyers who arrive at the airport without the proper identification. That process didn't require flyers to pay a fee.
But that changes in February.
For instructions on how to get REAL ID–compliant, go to TSA.gov/REAL-ID.
For more information on the new ConfirmID program, go to TSA.gov/TSAConfirm-ID.
An earlier version of this story has been updated with new information.