The U.S. Transportation Security Administration on Feb. 1, 2026, will begin to charge air passengers without acceptable forms of identification, including a Real ID or passport, a $45 fee to fly, the agency announced Monday.
The fee would cover the use of TSA's new Confirm.ID "modernized alternative identity verification system" for 10 days, according to the agency. That process will take on average 10 to 15 minutes but could take longer than 30 minutes, TSA said.
Acceptable forms of identification include passports or Real ID, the state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards 20 years in the making that meet the security requirements laid out by the Real ID Act. TSA in May began to require Real ID or other acceptable identification for boarding aircraft in lieu of standard driver's licenses.
Those without acceptable ID "will be referred to the optional TSA Confirm.ID process for identity verification upon TSA check-in and prior to entering the security line," according to TSA. "This process will differ airport to airport, and TSA is working with private industry to proactively offer online payment options prior to arrival at the airport."
TSA did not release many details of the Confirm.ID process but said it "ensures compliance with federal security standards and strengthens the safety of air travel by preventing unauthorized individuals, including terrorists, illegal aliens, and other bad actors, from accessing domestic aviation systems."
The fee "ensures the cost to cover verification of an insufficient ID will come from the traveler, not the taxpayer," said Adam Stahl, the senior official performing the duties of deputy administrator for TSA, in a statement.
More than 94 percent of passengers "currently" fly with acceptable identification, according to TSA.