December 2, 2025
If you don’t have a passport or a REAL ID– and you want to get on an airplane in the United States – you better bring some money because the US government is going to hit you with a $45 fee. That’s according to a new policy rolled out by the Transportation Security Administration.
The TSA says if you don’t have a passport or a REAL ID – which let’s be fair – the law says you must have to fly or enter any federal building — you’re going to have to go through a separate verification system at the airport so they can figure out who exactly you are. And TSA says that verification check will cost you $45.
Now – this policy will kick in on February 1 of 2026 and if you do have to pay that fee it will be valid for a 10-day travel period. So in theory – it should cover the travel to your destination and back home if you’re only gone for 10 days.
In the notice released by TSA they say travelers who don’t have an acceptable ID will not even be allowed into get in the security line. Instead – if they want to get on the airplane – they will be moved into a separate line so they can go through this new verification system. They say to avoid all this “we urge all travelers to get a real id or other acceptable form of id as soon as possible to avoid delays and potentially miss flights.”
Again this policy will kick in – in just two months on February 1st so if you don’t yet have a passport or a REAL ID and you want to get on a plane now would be the time to get one. This notice also gives a list all the other acceptable forms of id that you can present to a TSA agent and not have to pay the $45.
Read the policy here.
