U.S. flyers arriving at the airport without a REAL ID will be offered the option to pay $45 for an alternative process to prove their identities, Transportation Security Administration officials said Monday.
The new method, called Confirm ID, will start in February, and the results will be valid for 10 days, a window meant to cover most round-trip itineraries. The agency described the effort as part of a broader push to drive compliance with tighter federal identification rules while preserving a fallback for those without acceptable documents.
Travelers will be able to pay through Pay.gov and verify their identities online before arriving at the airport. They will have to show their receipt to a document checker during the security screening process. A notice last month said the fee would be $18.
Those without ID who choose not to pay will be pulled aside for a verification process that may take at least 30 minutes, the agency said.
TSA in May began enforcing long-anticipated rules requiring travelers to use REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and other government-issued cards to board domestic flights.
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