How has TSA enforcement of REAL ID changed airport screening procedures since 2025?
Executive summary
TSA began full enforcement of REAL ID at airport security checkpoints on May 7, 2025, requiring adults to present a REAL ID‑compliant license or another acceptable form of ID, and treating noncompliant state licenses as insufficient for routine entry into the sterile area [1] [2]. The practical changes at checkpoints have been twofold: passengers with noncompliant IDs face additional screening, separate processing and possible denial of entry, while a new alternative identity‑verification pathway — TSA ConfirmID — was rolled out with a user fee that has been reported inconsistently across federal notices and press coverage [3] [4] [5] [6].
1. Enforcement timeline and the rule change
The REAL ID requirement moved from a long‑delayed mandate into active checkpoint policy when DHS and TSA began enforcement on May 7, 2025, after a phased‑implementation rule published earlier in the year [1] [3]. TSA publicly posted signage and coordinated with airports to tell travelers that non‑REAL IDs “will no longer be accepted,” and emphasized that compliant alternatives such as passports, military IDs, and certain federal cards remain valid [7] [8] [9].
2. How screening procedures at the checkpoint were altered
Operationally, the checkpoint process now includes an identity‑compliance assessment before standard screening: passengers presenting noncompliant state IDs are notified, may be routed to a separate area for “additional screening,” and can face delays or denial of access to the sterile area if identity cannot be confirmed [3] [4] [7]. TSA has signaled it will try to minimize impacts on overall wait times for passengers who arrive prepared with REAL ID or other acceptable IDs, but the agency acknowledges that secondary processing for identity verification can cause delays and additional screening measures [4] [3].
3. The ConfirmID pathway and a confusing fee landscape
For travelers who lack an acceptable form of ID, TSA introduced an alternative verification process branded in public materials as TSA ConfirmID and — beginning February 1, 2026 — tied it to a fee, reported widely as $45 in agency press releases and major outlets [5] [2] [10]. However, the Federal Register notice for the “modernized alternative identity verification” program lists a different per‑use fee amount ($18) and frames the program as optional, not guaranteed to grant access, and subject to variability by airport [6]. Reporting and TSA communications diverge on price and some operational details, leaving a gap between headline figures and the formal rulemaking record [5] [6].
4. Practical impacts on travelers and airports
TSA projected that most travelers already presented acceptable ID — about 81 percent at checkpoints — but warned that noncompliant travelers could expect increased screening and longer processing, prompting airports and airlines to boost pre‑trip messaging and on‑site signage to reduce surprises at security lines [3] [11]. The ConfirmID process is presented as a stopgap for occasional lapses (lost, stolen, expired IDs are still sometimes accepted under limited rules), yet TSA and airports concede the process will differ airport to airport and can produce wait‑time variability for users [2] [5] [12].
5. Political framing and institutional incentives
The revived enforcement has been framed by officials as closing a longstanding security gap — language emphasized in TSA and DHS releases — while critics and local reporting note that the public rollout and fee mechanics became a political talking point amid the 2025 administration’s push to implement REAL ID after decades of delay [3] [5] [11]. TSA’s stated institutional incentive is to standardize identity proofing and reduce forged‑ID risks, but the agency also faces pressure to avoid major operational disruptions at busy airports, producing the compromise of secondary screening plus an alternative paid verification pathway [3] [4] [5].
6. Open questions and what to watch next
Key uncertainties remain: the precise user cost and how widely online prepayment vs. in‑airport processing will be available (TSA materials and the Federal Register use different fee figures), whether ConfirmID’s biometric/biographic methods will scale without bottlenecks, and how airports will balance throughput with the added secondary processing [6] [13] [5]. Reporting from TSA and airports documents the new procedures and risks of delay, but does not yet offer comprehensive data on nationwide wait‑time impacts or how consistently ConfirmID is being implemented across airports [4] [5].