TSA Identity Verification Process: REAL ID, CAT, and No-ID Cases

The TSA identity verification process is straightforward: at the checkpoint, you hand over one document from TSA’s approved list, and either an officer or an electronic scanner confirms the ID is authentic and that your face and name match the document and your reservation. Since May 7, 2025, a state driver’s license or ID only works if it is REAL ID-compliant. If yours isn’t, you need a passport or another accepted document, or you’ll be routed into a paid alternative verification process that costs $45 and isn’t guaranteed to succeed.

What Counts as an Acceptable ID

Any one of the following will get you through:

A REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or state ID card from any U.S. state or territory
An Enhanced Driver’s License or Enhanced ID Card from a participating border state
A U.S. passport or passport card
A DHS trusted traveler card (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST)
A U.S. Department of Defense ID, including dependents’ IDs
A permanent resident card
A border crossing card
A federally recognized Tribal Nation photo ID, including Enhanced Tribal Cards
An HSPD-12 PIV card (the standard federal employee credential)
A foreign government-issued passport
A Canadian provincial driver’s license
A Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
A USCIS Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
A U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential
A Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)

An expired version of any of these stays valid for up to two years past the printed expiration date.¹

One common trip-up: the paper interim document a DMV hands you while you wait for a permanent card is not accepted. If you just renewed and have only the paper printout, bring your old expired license (still valid within two years) or another document from the list.¹

How to Tell If Your License Is REAL ID-Compliant

Look at the front of the card for a small marking. Most states use a gold or black star. California uses a bear with a star, Maine uses an outline of the state, and several states place the star inside a circle. No marking usually means the license is a standard, non-compliant one. Your state DMV can confirm if you’re unsure.

If your license isn’t compliant, you can still fly using any other document from the accepted list. A passport or passport card is the most common backup. Arriving with only a non-compliant state ID and nothing else routes you into the ConfirmID process described below.²

What Actually Happens at the Checkpoint

Three versions of the process are in use, depending on the airport.

Manual Inspection

At checkpoints without scanners, an officer inspects your ID by eye. They compare your face to the photo, check the expiration date, look for tampering, and match the name against your boarding pass. Some smaller airports still work this way.

Credential Authentication Technology (CAT)

Most major airports use a CAT scanner. You place your ID on the unit, which reads its security features and confirms authenticity. The scanner also connects to TSA’s Secure Flight database in near real-time and pulls up your reservation and pre-screening status, including TSA PreCheck. Because your flight information comes through the scanner, you often don’t need to show a physical boarding pass at all.³

CAT-2 With a Biometric Camera

Newer CAT-2 units add a camera that takes a live photo of your face and compares it one-to-one against the photo on your ID. The system confirms or flags the match, and the officer makes the final call. CAT-2 is at a growing number of airports.

You Can Say No to the Camera

The photo step at CAT-2 is optional. Tell the officer before handing over your ID that you’d like to opt out, and they’ll verify you through a traditional visual comparison instead. Declining costs nothing, adds no time, and doesn’t send you to the back of the line. TSA posts signage at the checkpoint reminding travelers of this right.⁴

Travelers under 18 are never photographed by the biometric system, even when an accompanying adult opts in.⁴

If you do participate, TSA purges the live photo within 24 hours after the flight’s scheduled departure. The biographic data on the scanner is deleted as soon as the officer moves to the next traveler. A copy may be retained by TSA’s Science and Technology directorate for accuracy testing and is deleted within 180 days.⁵

Using a Digital ID on Your Phone

TSA now accepts mobile driver’s licenses at more than 250 airports. You can present a digital version through your phone’s wallet or a TSA-approved state app instead of a physical card.⁶

Two conditions matter. First, your digital ID has to be based on a physical license that is itself REAL ID-compliant. A digital version of a non-compliant license won’t work. Second, your state has to participate. As of 2026, more than 20 states and Puerto Rico have eligible digital IDs, available through Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, Samsung Wallet, or state-specific apps like California’s DMV Wallet and Louisiana’s LA Wallet.⁷

Even where digital IDs work, TSA recommends carrying a physical accepted ID as a backup in case of technology issues.⁷

If You Show Up Without an Accepted ID

You may still be able to fly, but expect delay, extra screening, and a fee. Since February 2026, TSA has offered a service called TSA ConfirmID as the standard alternative.⁸

The fee is $45, payable through Pay.gov by bank account, debit card, credit card, Venmo, or PayPal. You can pay before you arrive or at the checkpoint, and you’ll need proof of payment. One payment covers a 10-day travel window from the date of travel listed on the receipt, so a round trip within that window only requires paying once.⁹¹⁰

TSA uses your biographic and biometric information to attempt a match against its databases. The process averages 10 to 15 minutes but can run 30 minutes or longer.¹¹ Paying does not guarantee clearance. TSA states plainly that ConfirmID may fail, and if it does, you won’t be allowed past the checkpoint.¹⁰ Even a successful verification comes with additional screening, including a pat-down and a thorough inspection of your carry-on bags.¹² The $45 is non-refundable either way.

When Your ID Name Doesn’t Match Your Boarding Pass

The two names don’t have to match character-for-character, but they need to be close. Suffixes are flexible. If “Jr.” is on your boarding pass but not on your ID, or the reverse, that’s fine. Suffixes on boarding passes are not required.¹

For other differences — a legal name change, a middle name on one document but not the other, or hyphenation — book your ticket using the name exactly as it appears on the ID you plan to carry. If you recently changed your name and your new ID hasn’t arrived yet, bring your old ID (still valid within two years of expiration) along with supporting documentation like a marriage certificate. Officers have discretion to resolve minor mismatches, but a large discrepancy will trigger delays or a referral to ConfirmID.

Children, Military Members, and Noncitizens

Children Under 18

Children under 18 don’t need ID for domestic flights, whether traveling with an adult or alone. The one narrow exception: an unaccompanied minor who has TSA PreCheck needs an acceptable ID to use the PreCheck lane. Without it, the child still flies through standard screening. Individual airlines may have their own documentation policies for unaccompanied minors, so check with the carrier.¹³

Military Members

Uniformed service members receive TSA PreCheck as a service benefit, covering both official and personal travel. To activate it, put the DoD ID number from the back of your Common Access Card into the Known Traveler Number field when booking. You cannot access the PreCheck lane just by showing your CAC at the checkpoint. The PreCheck indicator has to be printed on your boarding pass, which only happens if the DoD ID number was entered in the reservation.¹⁴ DoD civilian employees are also eligible but must opt in through milConnect first. Cadets and midshipmen at the service academies qualify as well.¹⁵

Noncitizens

Non-U.S. citizens can present a foreign government-issued passport. Permanent residents may use their green card. Noncitizens with a USCIS Employment Authorization Card (I-766) can present that document. Canadian travelers can also use a Canadian provincial driver’s license.¹

1
Transportation Security Administration. Acceptable Identification at the TSA Checkpoint
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Transportation Security Administration. REAL ID
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Transportation Security Administration. Credential Authentication Technology
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Transportation Security Administration. Facial Comparison Technology
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Department of Homeland Security. Travel Document Checker Automation Using Facial Identification Privacy Impact Assessment
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Transportation Security Administration. Digital Identity and Facial Comparison Technology
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Transportation Security Administration. Participating States and Eligible Digital IDs
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Transportation Security Administration. $45 Fee Option for Air Travelers Without a REAL ID Begins February 1
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Transportation Security Administration. How Do I Pay the TSA ConfirmID Fee
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Transportation Security Administration. TSA ConfirmID FAQs
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Transportation Security Administration. About TSA ConfirmID
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Federal Register. TSA Modernized Alternative Identity Verification User Fee
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Transportation Security Administration. Do Minors Need Identification to Fly Within the U.S.
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Transportation Security Administration. Free TSA PreCheck for Uniformed Service Members and DOD Civilians
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Defense Travel Management Office. Commercial Air – TSA PreCheck