Can I Fly With This ID?

You can fly without a REAL ID only with another ID on TSA’s list, such as a U.S. passport or passport card, or by paying $45 for TSA ConfirmID. A license without the star has not been accepted since May 7, 2025. Children under 18 need no ID within the U.S.; expired IDs pass for 2 years.

How to use it

Pick the ID you plan to show at the checkpoint, type when it expires and the day you fly if you know them, and tick whether the traveler is under 18 or flying abroad. The answer is TSA’s: accepted, accepted for now (expired, within the grace), not needed, or not accepted, with TSA ConfirmID as the way through, its fee and how long the fee is good for.

The IDs TSA accepts

18 kinds of ID, in TSA’s words:

• State-issued REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses or identification cards
• State-issued Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) or Enhanced Identification Card (EID)
• Mobile Driver’s Licenses (mDLs): TSA accepts certain mDLs issued by states that have been approved for Federal use.
• U.S. passport
• U.S. passport card
• DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
• U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
• Permanent resident card
• Border crossing card
• An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe, including Enhanced Tribal Cards (ETCs)
• HSPD-12 PIV card
• Foreign government-issued passport
• Canadian provincial driver’s license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
• Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
• U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential
• Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)
• Apple Digital ID Clear ID Google ID pass

The last line is TSA’s “ongoing testing” of digital IDs. “The list of acceptable IDs is subject to change without notice.” Not on it: “A temporary driver’s license is not an acceptable form of identification.” And “As of May 7, 2025, state-issued driver’s licenses and IDs that are not REAL ID compliant are no longer accepted as valid forms of identification at airports.” How to tell: “A REAL ID features a star in the upper right or left corner.”

Expired IDs and children

“TSA currently accepts expired ID up to two years after expiration, for the above listed forms of identification.” So a passport that expired on June 1, 2025 still gets you through the checkpoint until June 1, 2027. “TSA does not require children under 18 to provide identification when traveling within the United States.”

No acceptable ID: TSA ConfirmID

“Starting February 1, 2026, if you are unable to provide the required acceptable form of ID at a TSA checkpoint, you will have the option to pay a $45 fee to use TSA ConfirmID.” Pay before you get there: “You must pay a $45 fee for the process before you arrive at the security checkpoint or at the airport.” “The fee lets you use TSA ConfirmID for 10 days from the date of travel listed on the receipt.” It is not a pass: “If you don’t have an acceptable ID, you have the option of paying a $45 fee for TSA ConfirmID to attempt to verify your identity; however, there is no guarantee TSA can do so.” And it takes time: “The identification process takes an average of 10-15 minutes; however, it could take 30 minutes or more.” With your passport there is nothing to pay: “If you brought your valid passport, you do not need to pay the fee or use TSA ConfirmID.”

Worked examples

A license without the star, a flight next week. Not accepted. Bring your passport or passport card and pay nothing; without either, pay $45 for ConfirmID before you leave home, good for 10 days from the travel date on the receipt, and allow 30 minutes more at the checkpoint.

A passport that expired in June 2025. Flying on March 10, 2027: accepted, since TSA takes it until June 1, 2027. Flying on June 2, 2027: not accepted.

A family with a 12-year-old. Within the U.S., the child needs no ID; the adults each need one from the list.

Common mistakes

• Trusting the paper license. The temporary license the DMV hands you is not accepted: fly with your passport until the card arrives.
• Paying ConfirmID at the checkpoint. “If you don’t have an acceptable ID and haven’t paid the fee, you must leave the line to pay.”
• Bringing cash. “No. You must pay through Pay.gov, which does not accept cash.”
• Leaving the card at home for a phone ID. “You must also bring your physical ID to the TSA checkpoint.”
• Thinking the checkpoint is the only check abroad. An international flight also needs a passport the airline and the country you land in accept.

Plan the trip

Pack by the carry-on packing list, and read International Travel Tips for First-Timers before flying abroad. Going to Florida’s parks? Do you need an ID to get into Disney World? Then check whether your trip needs a passport, what you can bring through the checkpoint, and when to leave for the airport.