If you don’t have a Real ID the next time you fly, it could cost you.
The Transportation Security Administration has proposed a rule that would charge travelers who lack a Real ID an $18 fee at security checkpoints, according to a notice published Thursday in the Federal Register.
“This notice serves as a next step in the process in REAL ID compliance, which was signed into law more than 20 years ago and finally implemented by Secretary Noem as of May 2025,” a TSA spokesperson told CBS News, noting that the agency would soon provide additional guidance. “TSA is working with stakeholders and partners to ensure both security and efficiency at our checkpoints.”
Embracing biometrics
The TSA is launching a biometric identity verification program at its checkpoints to screen individuals who don’t have a Real ID or other suitable alternative form of identification, such as a passport.
Alternative ID verification methods are “time and resource intensive,” the TSA said in proposing the fee.
“To address the government-incurred costs, individuals who choose to use TSA’s modernized alternative identity verification program will be required to pay an $18 fee,” the agency’s proposed rule states.
Verifying people’s identity at the nation’s airports “is the first step in the physical screening process at a TSA security checkpoint and the last link in intelligence-based traveler prescreening, ensuring that high-risk travelers are identified. …” the proposal states.
The TSA said that biometric verification, which it also refers to as a registered traveler program, will streamline the process of identifying passengers.
Passengers will start incurring the $18 fee when the TSA announces that individuals may register for the alternative identity verification program at TSA.gov.
Daniel Green, co-founder of Faye Travel Insurance, thinks the fee proposal is reasonable, given that travelers have had ample time to obtain a Real ID.
“For years, they’ve been saying either get a Real ID or a passport or don’t travel,” he told CBS News. “So the idea that you can pay $18 and potentially travel anyway isn’t so unreasonable.”
Check your driver’s license bureau
The TSA began requiring passengers to present a Real ID or other approved documents in May. The enhanced form of identification can either be a driver’s license, learner’s permit or nondriver ID card.
“The fact that TSA is floating an identity-verification fee suggests things are tightening,” said Sarah Silbert, a strategist at flight search engine Points Path. “If you haven’t updated your ID yet, it’s smart to take care of it soon, especially with peak travel season adding extra stress for everyone.”
Requirements vary by state, so the TSA advises people to check their state’s driver’s license bureau website to see what documentation is required to obtain a Real ID.
