If you don’t already have Wednesday, May 7, 2025, highlighted on your calendar, you might want to do so now. As of that date, all U.S. travelers must have a REAL ID to board domestic flights.
Passed by Congress in 2005, the REAL ID Act enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the federal government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses,” according to the Department of Homeland Security. The Act established minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards and prohibits certain federal agencies from accepting for official purposes licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet these standards.
Beginning May 7, DHS, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and other federal agencies will only accept state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards to access federal facilities — including TSA airport security checkpoints — if the license or card was issued by a REAL ID-compliant state in accordance with the REAL ID security standards. That means the license or card must include the REAL ID-compliant star marking. (Enhanced Driver’s Licenses issued by Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Vermont are considered acceptable alternatives to REAL ID-compliant cards and will also be accepted for official REAL ID purposes.)
Travelers without a REAL ID will need to use a valid passport, a U.S. military ID or other acceptable forms of identification as detailed on the TSA website, according to TheHill.com.
Find out if you’re REAL ID-compliant here.
For now, though, you can still fly without REAL ID — and, for that matter, other forms of identification. But it won’t necessarily be easy.
“Navigating the process of flying without an ID is one of the greatest nightmares for novice travelers and intrepid globetrotters alike,” notes Fodors.com. “Here’s the million-dollar question: Can you fly without an ID? The short answer is yes. The TSA gets it: the system recognizes that if your ID was lost or (gasp!) stolen, while away from home, then getting a replacement ID may be near impossible. If you’re flying domestically, they will do their best to let you still fly without ID, which means convincing them that you are… you.”
Indeed, TSA regulations state that “in the event you arrive at the airport without valid identification, because it is lost or at home, you may still be allowed to fly. The TSA officer may ask you to complete an identity verification process, which includes collecting information such as your name, current address and other personal information to confirm your identity. If your identity is confirmed, you will be allowed to enter the screening checkpoint. You will be subject to additional screening, to include a pat-down and screening of carry-on property. You will not be allowed to enter the security checkpoint if your identity cannot be confirmed, you choose to not provide proper identification or you decline to cooperate with the identity verification process.”
Remain calm throughout the entire process, cautions Tara Massouleh McCay, travel and culture editor for Southern Living magazine. “Answer questions thoughtfully, truthfully and calmly, and you’ll have no problem getting through,” she writes. “Remember, TSA agents are there to keep everyone safe, but they do want to help you get home. The agent I spoke with joked that I was the twentieth person who showed up to the airport without an ID that day and even said that a Sam’s or Costco membership card could have helped avoid the identification process.”
Joking aside, Massouleh McCay also advises keeping your cellphone in your pocket: “Part of the screening requires you to answer questions without aid from anyone or anything, so if you’ve got your phone open, it may interfere with the validity of your answers and jeopardize your clearance.”
Traveling internationally without an ID, however, can be a much different story. “Different countries have different rules about the identification they’ll accept for commercial flights,” according to Skyscanner, which “highly recommend[s]” not trying to travel without a passport. “If you lose your passport while abroad, go to the nearest U.S. embassy as soon as possible to get a replacement. It’s the only way to guarantee you’ll get home.”
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