Starting next month, travelers who want to board a domestic flight without a Real ID will have to pay $45 to have their identity verified through the Transportation Security Administration’s new security screening program.
On Feb. 1, if you attempt to get through an airport security checkpoint without a Real ID, or another TSA-approved form of identification, you have the option to verify your identity through the modernized alternative-verification program, officially called TSA Confirm.ID.
If you choose to use Confirm.ID you will be charged a $45 fee.
TSA announced the new identification verification program in December, saying it 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,” said Adam Stahl, acting deputy administrator for the agency. “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.”
More than 94% of passengers currently use their Real ID or other acceptable form of identification, according to TSA. About 58%, more than 19 million, of all driver’s license and ID cardholders in California have a Real ID, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
Opting to use Confirm.ID, here’s how to pay the $45
If you don’t have a Real ID or another TSA-approved form of identification you’ll be presented with the option to confirm your identity with Confirm.ID at a TSA checkpoint, before entering security lines.
Anyone 18 and older must show TSA their Real ID or another TSA-approved form of identification. Children under 18 do not have to provide a form of identification for domestic flights, according to TSA.
To use the Confirm.ID option you’ll need to submit a form and make a payment online either before you arrive or when you’re at the airport.
The form and payment can be submitted through the website pay.gov.
To make a payment you’ll need to provide:
- Your full legal name
- Your travel start date
- A valid form of payment. The website accepts payments via bank, Venmo or PayPal or a debit or credit card.
Once the form and payment are submitted online you’ll receive a receipt in your email. TSA recommends you keep this email, take a screenshot or print the receipt because you’ll need to present this at a TSA checkpoint as proof of payment.
The identity verification takes place at the airport.
How Confirm.ID works
After travelers alert TSA that they’re going to use the Confirm.ID option and provide proof of payment, they will need to provide their full legal name, address and date of birth.
In a November filing with the Federal Register, TSA said the proposed program will use a new biometric kiosk system to verify identification before each traveler without a Real ID or other acceptable form of identification is allowed past the TSA checkpoint.
It’s unclear whether the kiosks have been implemented at airports yet.
“Travelers will process with a kiosk system that captures their biometric data and compares it to TSA’s Secure Flight watch lists,” said Tom Spagnola, senior vice president of partner relations at CheapOair.
Biometrics uses physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, facial recognition software and retinal scans to verify an identity. TSA already uses such methods for verifying digital IDs using facial recognition software.
If your identity is validated through Confirm.ID, that approval is valid for 10 days, allowing travelers to use it as much as they want within that period.
