A TSA security checkpoint at Appleton International Airport in Greenville is seen June 16, 2021. PC: Fox 11 Online
ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – No ID, pay the fee. That’s what the Transportation Security Administration is telling travelers flying in and out of airports across the country.
Two months after TSA announced it would charge people, the fee is now in effect.
More than two decades after Congress first passed the Real ID law, it was less than a year ago when the Transportation Security Administration started requiring travelers to carry it.
Then, in December, TSA announced anyone who didn’t have the Real I-D would be charged a fee to fly. That new policy went into effect February 1st.
Despite the publicity surrounding the Real I-D, some travelers like Derek Barr still didn’t have it.
According to Barr, who was flying into Green Bay from Kentucky, “They said, we don’t take those, you got to pay a $45 fee. And then you had to get online and fill all that out. It wasn’t too much of a hassle. It was just, Hey, here’s another additional fee.”
Travelers without a Real ID are being directed to the TSA’s ConfirmID website. After filling out a form and paying the 45-dollar fee, a process that could several minutes, travelers can present their receipt to TSA agents.
“Everything was pretty easy for the most part. I mean, the steps and stuff, it was just like, hey, here’s another $45 out the window,” said Barr.
Statistics on how many travelers at specific airports needed to pay the fee aren’t being kept, but we were told things are running smoothly and the fee requirement was operating as intended.
For those without a Real ID, another acceptable form of identification is a valid passport.
Acceptable forms of ID include:
- REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent)
- State-issued Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) or Enhanced ID (EID)
- 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)
If the $45 fee is paid, the receipt is good for 10 days before a traveler would have to pay again.
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