I’ve gotta say, this proposal doesn’t seem unreasonable to me?
TSA could soon start charging to verify traveler identity
In May 2025, we saw the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) finally start to require passengers to have either a REAL ID or passport to travel by air, a mere 17 years behind schedule. Well, sort of. While that requirement was technically put into place, in reality, it’s still possible to travel without either of those documents, but you’re just subjected to extra identity verification.
Along those lines, the TSA has now issued a proposed rule, which is being published in the Federal Register today. That means there will be a public commenting period before this goes into effect. With this, travelers without required identification documents will have to pay a non-refundable fee of $18 to have their identity verified on a new biometric kiosk system, before they can pass through a checkpoint.
The idea is that a non-refundable $18 fee would allow passengers to access TSA checkpoints for 10 days, and the intent is for the fee to be used to pay for the new technology. The timeline for this being implemented remains to be seen, and I imagine it won’t be any time soon. The new system is supposed to reduce the amount of time it takes to verify the identity of travelers.
The TSA is referring to this new system as a “modernized alternative identity verification program,” and it will use biometric and biographic information to confirm someone’s identity. However, this wouldn’t guarantee that a traveler’s identity would actually be verified, or that they’d be provided access to the airside.
This proposed verification fee seems reasonable to me
I don’t think the requirement to travel with a REAL ID or passport is unreasonable. For those who don’t have one (and even those who just leave their ID at home), the current process of verifying identity is manual, and takes some effort.
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. $18 isn’t an unreasonable fee for such a thing. If new technology can be introduced that greatly simplifies things, that seems like a win-win, so that fewer TSA agents have to focus on these things.
It would be fascinating to know how many travelers per day have their identity manually verified at checkpoints, and how many of those are due to not having a REAL ID, vs. just forgetting to bring their ID.
Bottom line
The TSA plans to add an $18 identity verification fee for those who show up at security without a REAL ID or passport. The idea is that identity verification is currently a manual process, but the TSA would invest in machines that automate this a bit, and the fee would help fund that.
Maybe there’s something I’m not considering, but I don’t think that’s unreasonable.
What do you make of this new potential TSA fee?