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Travelers without a REAL ID will soon have a new option to verify their identity at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints, but it will come at a price.
The rollout comes less than a year after the May 7, 2025 REAL ID deadline, which mandated the use of REAL ID-compliant licenses or other acceptable forms of identification at airport security checkpoints.
From February 1, the TSA will introduce its new, modernized TSA Confirmation IDgiving travelers without REAL ID or other acceptable forms of identification a new option for air travel. Passengers who pay a non-refundable fee of $45 can use the alternative identity verification system.
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TSA agents check passengers’ identification documents at a security checkpoint at Reagan National Airport on the first day of the U.S. government shutdown in Arlington, Virginia, on October 1, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“TSA ConfirmID will be an option for travelers who do not bring a REAL ID or other acceptable form of ID to the TSA checkpoint and still want to fly,” Adam Stahl, senior official performing the duties of TSA deputy administrator, said in a statement. “Affected travelers have the option to pay $45 and use the TSA ConfirmID process. This fee ensures that non-compliant travelers, rather than taxpayers, cover the costs of processing travelers without acceptable identification.”
Additionally, TSA Deputy Executive Assistant Administrator Steve Lorincz clarified in a recent interview that the receipt was valid for ten days, meaning passengers on shorter journeys would be able to use it on their outward and return journeys. However, he still advised travelers to make time to get a REAL ID.
TSA agents verify the identities of passengers at a checkpoint at Miami International Airport as the TSA announced on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, the upcoming implementation of its REAL ID enforcement measures nationwide. (Pedro Portal/The Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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Travelers who wish to use TSA ConfirmID will receive a receipt by email after completing the online form. TSA recommends that passengers complete the process before any air travel on or after February 1. Once at the airport, passengers who have paid the $45 fee must show their receipt to a TSA officer and then be instructed on next steps.
The agency warns on its website that travelers who choose to use TSA ConfirmID “will be subject to additional identity verification, screening measures and possible delays.” In addition, the agency said those who show up at a TSA checkpoint without acceptable identification and have not yet paid for TSA ConfirmID “will be subject to additional delays that may result in a missed flight.”
Travelers make their way through a TSA security checkpoint at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, on Friday, November 7, 2025. (Brian Snyder/Reuters/Reuters)
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“It is important that air travelers plan ahead to ensure they have acceptable identification to avoid these additional delays, as the process can take up to 30 minutes,” the TSA says on its website.
Those who do not have REAL ID do not necessarily need to use TSA ConfirmID as the agency accepts multiple forms of identification. The TSAs website lists various acceptable forms of identification, including U.S. and foreign passports, enhanced state driver’s licenses or identification cards (excluding temporary driver’s licenses), and permanent resident, border crossing, and employment permits, among others.
