NC travelers without a REAL ID face a new TSA fee to fly this winter
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- TSA launches TSA Confirm.ID in Feb and charges travelers $45 for screening
- Verification will be good for 10 days; TSA warns of delays at checkpoints
- About 43% of NC adults lack REAL ID; thousands may face delays or denied access
The Transportation Security Administration announced Monday that it will introduce a new system for screening people who show up at airport security checkpoints without a REAL ID, passport or other credential that meets federal standards.
The TSA will charge those travelers a $45 fee to cover the cost of the new system, which goes live in February.
The fee is higher than the $18 the TSA said it would charge in a notice it posted on Nov. 20. The agency did not explain the discrepancy.
The federal government began enforcing stricter identification standards required by the REAL ID Act on May 7. Since then, travelers without a REAL ID or other compliant credential have been subject to special screenings to verify their identity before being allowed through airport security. The most common way involves a TSA call center called the National Transportation Vetting Center.
But starting Feb. 1, the TSA plans to use an automated system it calls TSA Confirm.ID. Travelers without REAL ID-compliant identification will need to go through the TSA Confirm.ID process and pay the $45 fee before being allowed through the security checkpoint.
“This fee ensures the cost to cover verification of an insufficient ID will come from the traveler, not the taxpayer,” Adam Stahl, TSA’s acting deputy administrator, said in a written statement.
The TSA says the TSA Confirm.ID process will slow down the screening process for passengers who use it and urges people to have a credential that meets the new federal standards.
“The security of the traveling public is our top priority,” Stahl said. “So 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.”
A list of acceptable forms of ID can be found at www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification.
Getting a REAL ID is optional. North Carolina began offering them in 2017, and about 43% of the nearly 8.7 million residents with a state driver’s license or ID card have chosen not to get one, according to the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles.
Nationwide, more than 94% of air travelers show up at TSA checkpoints with a REAL ID or other acceptable identification; in North Carolina, that figure is about 91.5%, according to the agency.
That means thousands show up at North Carolina airports without an ID that meets federal standards and must undergo special screening.
The new TSA Confirm.ID process will differ from airport to airport, according to the TSA. The agency says it will urge travelers to pay the $45 fee in advance and is working with private contractors to allow people to pay it online before they arrive at the airport.
Verification through the new system will be good for 10 days, after which another fee would be required. Travelers who are denied access to the airport for any reason would not get their $45 back.
