Air Journey Alert: TSA will start implementing REAL ID necessities on February 1, 2026

Airline journey with no REAL ID will price $45

From the Allegany County Clerk’s Office,

Beginning February 1, 2026, the TSA will formally start implementing the REAL ID requirement for all U.S. home flights. This implies that each traveler 18 and older will want a REAL ID–compliant driver’s license or ID card to board a home flight.

If you’re planning to fly, however haven’t upgraded your license, starting February 1st, it can price you!

Right now, vacationers with no REAL ID could also be topic to further screening earlier than being allowed via safe checkpoints. However, starting February 1, 2026, vacationers who don’t current an appropriate type of ID might be required to pay a $45 charge to make use of the TSA’s various identification verification system, referred to as TSA ConfirmID. According to TSA, this charge covers a 10-day journey interval and may be paid on-line upfront to cut back airport delays.

According to TSA officers, noncompliant vacationers who use the brand new Confirm.ID course of ought to plan to pay the charge and add their paperwork via a TSA internet portal, which is able to go browsing quickly, earlier than they arrive on the airport. Those vacationers ought to carry a duplicate of their Confirm.ID receipt to the usual TSA line and may have the ability to proceed via the safety checkpoint usually after presenting their noncompliant paperwork and proof of finishing the Confirm.ID course of.

Alternatively, vacationers who don’t full Confirm.ID upfront may have the choice of finishing it on the airport. TSA officers typically count on ID verification to take 10 to fifteen minutes on common however might take as much as half-hour. For extra info on ConfirmID go to: www.tsa.gov/tsaconfirm-id.

If you wouldn’t have a REAL ID, an inventory of acceptable options may be discovered at www.tsa.gov/journey/security-screening/identification.

If you’re planning a go to to the DMV to improve your license to Real or Enhanced, it is very important be ready. Be certain you have got all required paperwork with you. You will want one proof of identification (passport or U.S. start certificates), two proofs of New York residency, your social safety card and a present driver’s license. If you have got been married, we are going to want a licensed copy of your marriage license (or divorce decree) to indicate your identify change. Expired or outdated paperwork won’t be accepted. Certified copies of each start and marriage certificates are accepted.

As a reminder, Real ID compliant licenses may have a Star (for a Real) or a Flag (for an enhanced) within the higher nook. As all the time, we’re pleased to reply any questions you may need. Feel free to name us at (585) 268-9267.