Several weeks back, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced plans to add a new fee for those who don’t have an eligible ID they can use to clear airport security checkpoints. With this new policy being implemented in the coming days, we now have all the details of how this will work, and the webpage that enables this process is also up.
On November 20, 2025, the TSA issued a notice, which was published in the Federal Register. With this, travelers without required identification documents have to pay a fee to have their identity verified, before they can pass through a checkpoint.
So it seems fair to pass on that cost to travelers, and perhaps it’ll even act as a further incentive for people to finally make sure they get a REAL ID. For that matter, arguably there’s even a benefit here for those without an ID — they can complete their identity verification before even arriving at the airport, potentially speeding up the process.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
