If you’re traveling by plane on May 7 or after, you can expect delays if you don’t have the proper form of identification.
Starting next Wednesday, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers will ask passengers to present a state-issued identification that is REAL ID-compliant, or some other valid ID like a passport.
What is REAL ID?
If you have a state-issued driver’s license, look on the front for a gold circle with an inset star. That means you’re compliant and all set to board domestic flights.
If there’s no star, and you don’t have a passport (from any country) or any of the other forms of identification that are acceptable, then you could face additional screening and the possibility of not being permitted past the TSA checkpoint.
(You can still use the non-compliant ID for state-related purposes, such as driving, banking and voting. So if you don’t travel by plane or visit federal facilities, you don’t need a REAL ID.)
Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005, requiring states to produce driver’s licenses and identification cards that can be accepted as identity documents by the federal government. Nationwide, 81% of people have been issued a REAL ID, and in Texas, 98% have one.
Texas began issuing REAL ID-compliant cards — the ones with the gold star — on October 10, 2016. So if you replaced or renewed your license after that date, you are compliant. No further action is required.
To renew your license and obtain a REAL ID online, visit this DPS site. For same-day service, you can make an appointment at a DPS office.
What documents you need
To request a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license in Texas, you need several documents.
Those include an original or certified copy of a birth certificate or an unexpired U.S. passport (booklet or card), a Social Security card, current Texas vehicle registration or title, and current auto insurance policy or insurance statement. If your name has changed, legal documents showing proof of the change are also required.
It usually takes two to three weeks from the date of your transaction for a driver’s license or ID card to be mailed to you, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The cost is $33 for drivers between 18 and 84 years old, and $16 for drivers under age 18, and $9 for those over age 84.
TSA does not require children under 18 years old to provide identification when traveling with a companion within the United States. The companion must show acceptable identification.
For a full list of acceptable identification documents accepted at airport security checkpoints, see the TSA website here.
Military ID cards are also accepted, according to a report by Military.com.
Those include Department of Defense (DoD) Common Access Cards, Uniformed Services ID cards, the older DoD ID cards for military family members and retirees and Personal Identity Verification Cards issued to some civilian personnel.
What happens if I don’t have REAL ID?
If you show up at the airport without a REAL ID or other valid ID, checkpoint officers might work to verify your identification in other ways, said TSA spokeswoman Patricia Mancha.
“Every day, we have travelers who actually lose their ID” or can’t find it, Mancha said. “We actually work with them to try to verify their identity. We ask travelers to allow extra time for that because the key is that there’s no guarantee.”
TSA can’t always verify someone’s identity in time for a traveler to make a flight, and they can’t guarantee they’ll be able to verify an individual’s identity, she said.
One important thing to know about the REAL ID is that it is not a substitute for a passport. “If you leave the United States, you still must present a passport or other documents that are required in order for you to re-enter the country,” Mancha said.
The summer travel season is about to kick off with several new nonstop destinations out of the San Antonio International Airport (SAT), including Washington, D.C., and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
During the spring, the airport saw passenger numbers dip by 2% compared to March 2024. Just under 922,000 people flew through the airport in March. SAT officials attributed the decrease to economic uncertainty and the Easter holiday being in April this year.
Still have questions about REAL ID? Reach out to Ask TSA on any of the agency’s social media platforms.
