How to Fly Without a REAL ID Using TSA ConfirmID

The flight is tomorrow and the only license in the wallet has no star on it. Since May 2025 a plain state license is not an acceptable ID at a TSA checkpoint, and since February 1, 2026 the fallback is a paid identity check called TSA ConfirmID. The wrong assumption is that an officer will sort it out at the airport for free. They will not, and cash is not accepted there either. Pay online before you leave for the airport.

Check whether you already hold an acceptable ID

Read TSA's acceptable identification list before paying anything. A US passport or passport card, a Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST card, a Department of Defense ID, a permanent resident card, a Veteran Health Identification Card, or a photo ID from a federally recognized tribe all work. TSA also accepts any ID on that list up to two years past its expiration date. A temporary paper license does not count. Children under 18 need no ID on a domestic flight. If you hold none of these, go on to the next step.

Pay the fee on Pay.gov before you travel

Open TSA ConfirmID and use the Pay Now button, which opens the TSA ConfirmID form on Pay.gov. Enter the Traveler's legal name exactly as it appears on the airline booking and the Traveler's start date, meaning the first day you will fly. The fee is $45 as of September 2026 and can be paid by bank account, debit or credit card, PayPal or Venmo. It covers ten days from the start date you enter, so a round trip inside that window needs one payment. Each adult without an acceptable ID pays separately.

Save the receipt where you can show it

Pay.gov emails a payment confirmation. Screenshot it or print it. That receipt is what you hand to the officer, and a phone with a dead battery is the same as no receipt.

Show the receipt and answer the identity questions

At the checkpoint, tell the first officer you have no acceptable ID and show the ConfirmID receipt. TSA's ConfirmID FAQ says the check may ask for your legal name, address and date of birth. Expect extra screening and extra time, so arrive earlier than you normally would. TSA states plainly that verification is not guaranteed.

If you did not pay before arriving. You can pay from a phone at the airport, but only through Pay.gov. Officers do not take cash or card at the checkpoint, and TSA recommends paying ahead.

If you have time before the trip. A passport card or a compliant license fixes this permanently. The steps for the license are in How to Get a REAL ID.

Sources. TSA ConfirmID, TSA ConfirmID FAQ, TSA ConfirmID payment form on Pay.gov, TSA acceptable identification, TSA REAL ID FAQ.