Air travelers without a REAL ID or passport could be required to pay a fee to get through airport security.
The Transportation Security Administration has proposed a “modernized alternative identity verification program” that would charge travelers $18 to confirm their identity if they don’t have an acceptable form of ID, such as a REAL ID or passport. The proposal was published in a notice Thursday on the Federal Register.
Under the “technology-enabled” program, a traveler would be required to pay a non-refundable fee of $18 to request an alternative identity verification in order to get through airport security. Once approved, the identity verification would be valid for 10 days.
But travelers who pay for the program would not be guaranteed approval. They also could be “subject to additional screening or experience delays,” according to the notice.
“TSA will use the individual’s biographic and/or biometric information to verify identity and match the individual to their Secure Flight watch list result,” the notice said.
“TSA anticipates that this modernized program will increase efficiency for each individual by streamlining steps taken to verify an individual’s identity and substantially increase the number of individuals for whom TSA can provide alternative identity verification by leveraging technology to significantly expand program capacity.”
The fee is designed to fully recover TSA’s costs for “providing this unique security service,” the notice said.
TSA “may decide in certain scenarios” to limit the number of times a traveler can use the program if they repeatedly fail to present an acceptable form of ID at security checkpoints, according to the notice.
It was not immediately clear when TSA could roll out the program, or the ways in which travelers would be able to apply for it. In an email to NBC Local on Friday, a TSA spokesperson said more guidance would be announced soon.
“This notice serves as a next step in the process in REAL ID compliance, which was signed into law more than 20 years ago and finally implemented by Secretary [Kristi] Noem as of May 2025,” the statement said. “TSA is working with stakeholders and partners to ensure both security and efficiency at our checkpoints. Additional guidance will be announced in the coming days.”
The REAL ID Act was signed into law in 2005, but it didn’t start being enforced until earlier this year following a series of delays. The law requires travelers to have a REAL ID-compliant license or another form of acceptable identification to get through security for a domestic flight.
The TSA notice described the current alternative identity verification process for travelers as “time and resource intensive, limiting the number of individuals for whom TSA can provide the service.”
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