No Real ID or passport? The TSA may charge you $18 to go through security
In a significant development for air travelers, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is poised to introduce stricter measures regarding identification requirements at airport security checkpoints. Just over six months into the enforcement of Real ID mandates, which necessitate a Real ID-compliant driver’s license or an approved alternative such as a passport, the TSA announced plans for a new security protocol that will allow travelers without an acceptable form of ID to pass through security—albeit for a fee of $18. This fee is intended to cover the additional time and technology involved in the enhanced screening process, which may include biometric scans to verify identities. This initiative represents a “next step” in the TSA’s ongoing efforts to bolster security while maintaining efficiency at airport checkpoints.
Since the Real ID enforcement began in May, travelers lacking the required identification have faced a more cumbersome security process, but many have still been allowed to board their flights. The new program aims to streamline this experience, albeit at a cost. While the TSA frames the fee as “optional,” the reality is that for those without an accepted ID, paying this fee becomes a necessity if they wish to fly. Importantly, the fee is nonrefundable; if a traveler cannot be verified after paying, they will not receive their money back. However, once paid, the fee covers the traveler for up to ten days, allowing for multiple flights within that timeframe. This change primarily affects individuals who do not possess a Real ID or any of the other accepted forms of identification, which could lead to additional costs for those who forget or lose their ID before heading to the airport.
The introduction of this fee is part of a broader context of evolving TSA policies, which have included the recent cessation of shoe removal at standard security checkpoints and ongoing discussions around the potential relaxation of the “3-1-1” liquids policy. As the TSA continues to modernize its operations, travelers are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the new requirements and ensure they have the necessary documentation before arriving at the airport. For most, these changes may not pose a challenge, but for those without an acceptable ID, the $18 fee could become a new travel expense to consider.
It’s been just over six months since the Transportation Security Administration
began enforcing Real ID mandates
at airports across the country.
Now, the rules could get even stricter.
Soon, travelers who don’t bring an acceptable form of ID to the airport may have to pay extra to pass through security.
According to
plans
filed Thursday with the Federal Register, the TSA is preparing a new security setup that would allow travelers to pass through security checkpoints even if they don’t have a Real ID or an approved alternative — like a passport.
The catch? They’d have to pay an $18 fee for the extra screening, which could include a new biometric scan.
MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
In a statement to TPG, the TSA called this a “next step” in the rollout of Real ID requirements, which launched in May at airports nationwide.
A ‘next step’ in Real ID enforcement
Currently, to pass through airport security, travelers are required to have a
Real ID-compliant driver’s license
(often signified by a star somewhere on the card) or
another approved ID
, such as a passport, a Global Entry card or one of
numerous other documents
.
Since May, though, even travelers who don’t have one of those approved IDs have generally still been able to get through security — but have faced a more time-consuming security process.
As part of this new “modernized alternative identity verification program,” the TSA would use a high-tech process to confirm those travelers’ identities.
However, those passengers would have to pay an $18 fee, which the TSA said is meant to cover the extra time and technology required to screen those passengers.
Essentially, the TSA is telling travelers: If you don’t have an acceptable ID, we’ll likely let you through, but you’ll have to pay $18 for the trouble.
TSA officers on duty at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
We expect to learn more details about this new program in the near future.
“TSA is working with stakeholders and partners to ensure both security and efficiency at our checkpoints,” a TSA spokesperson told TPG Thursday. “Additional guidance will be announced in the coming days.”
FAQs
The TSA is framing this new program and fee as “optional” for travelers who don’t bring an accepted ID to the airport.
Is it required or optional?
If you don’t have the right ID, you wouldn’t technically
have to
pay the $18 fee, per se. But your only other real option, at that point, would be to not fly.
So, yes it’s optional … sort of.
An airport representative assists passengers on Day 1 of Real ID enforcement at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD). SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY
Can you get a refund?
The fee would be nonrefundable, according to federal records: You’d pay the fee to go through the extra screening, and, if for some reason the officers can’t verify your identity, you would not get your money back, according to the notice filed Thursday.
Do you have to pay the fee each time you fly?
Based on the notice filed by the TSA, it appears once you pay the $18 fee, it would cover you for 10 days.
So, if you’re on a short out-and-back trip or a one-week vacation, you at least wouldn’t get hit with the fee in both directions.
The TSA noted, though, that it may, “in certain scenarios,” bar travelers from passing through checkpoints if they repeatedly show up at an airport without an acceptable form of ID.
Who this will affect (and who it won’t)
For most travelers, this change will likely have no impact whatsoever.
These new TSA restrictions will not affect you if you:
Have a Real ID
Bring a passport to the airport instead
Bring one of the
many other documents
the agency has accepted in place of a Real ID since May
However, for travelers who haven’t been able to get a Real ID and don’t carry one of the other allowable IDs, your flight will essentially cost you $18 on your trip.
That would also go for travelers who lose their ID — or forget it at home before heading to the airport.
Bottom line
This new $18 fee comes during a year of major change for the TSA. On top of launching long-planned Real ID enforcement, the agency in July stopped requiring travelers in the standard security checkpoints
to remove their shoes for screening
.
Trump administration officials have also hinted at a
possible future end of the “3-1-1” carry-on liquids policy
, though
those rules remain in place
at this time.
Related reading:
TPG’s 2025 travel trends report
Key travel tips you need to know — whether you’re a first-time or frequent traveler
Best travel credit cards
6 real-life strategies you can use when your flight is canceled or delayed
7 of the best credit cards for general travel purchases
13 must-have items the TPG team can’t travel without
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
