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If you’re dragging your feet to get a REAL ID and plan to travel next year, it’s going to cost you.
And, really, it should. You’ve had years to get this done, whether you like it or not. That’s a whole other topic. But given that this is a blog centered around travel, my guess is you have at least one (or four or five) of the REAL ID-compliant identification forms:
- REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent)
- Check with your state Department of Motor Vehicles.
- A temporary driver’s license is not an acceptable form of identification.
- 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)
I’m covered with my driver’s license, passport, passport card, and Global Entry card.
February 1: $45 Fee
The TSA says travelers without a REAL ID who want to fly can “pay a $45 fee to use a modernized alternative identity verification system, TSA Confirm.ID, to establish identity at security checkpoints beginning on February 1, 2026. Travelers will be able to pay $45 to use TSA Confirm.ID for a 10-day travel period.”
The feds add, “This process will differ airport to airport, and TSA is working with private industry to proactively offer online payment options prior to arrival at the airport.”
What could possibly go wrong?
If you don’t already have a REAL ID, consider this your reminder to make an appointment ASAP.
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and and may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
