Former TSA agent offers insight, urges all Americans get a REAL ID
By Steve Sprague,
Real ID is back in the news, this time because you may be charged $45 for NOT having a compliant driver’s license before you try to board an airplane. Surprise!
Back in the spring, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) finally implemented its requirement that travelers would only be admitted to flights if the driver’s license they carry was “Real ID compliant.” It was April 11 when I offered a personal look at Real ID in The Sun since my nearly 20 years at TSA HQ included work on that project.
As a TSA rep on the DHS rulemaking unit that shaped Real ID implementation, I briefed the TSA administrator at the time, expecting the program would be implemented by our agency. Instead, an office at DHS HQ kept it in-house until just recently.
The latest wrinkle was announced by TSA HQ this Monday, December 1. It’s a $45 charge for a specific background check for anyone who wants to fly but doesn’t bring along a Real ID-compliant license or one of a handful of other authorized forms of identification (see list later). Traveling after February 1 may cost you both time and money.
The charge will pay for what the agency now calls a “Confirm.ID” process. You’ll be required to fill out a form listing a number of personal information items that can be run through a digitized background check to prove you are who you claim to be. While the agency says that should only take 30-minutes to an hour, it could be long enough to miss your plane.
Even more interesting is that the check only lasts for 10-days. If you plan a two-week vacation, you’ll have to do the dance on the way home, too. And pay the same $45 again!
In the column back in April, I tried to explain the real intent and value of the Real ID process, passed by Congress as a critical part of the 9/11 Act in 2005. A common question is, “Why has it taken 20 years to implement this program?” I was personally miffed at the comments TSA offered on its web page explaining the fee.
“The REAL ID law was signed more than 20 years ago, but previous presidential administrations failed to properly implement it. Under President Trump’s leadership, the law was finally implemented and enforced by Secretary Kristi Noem as of May 7, 2025.”
That’s pure political BS. Once Congress acted, it took the workgroup I participated in considerable time to turn the law (actually passed twice by Congress) into meaningful regulations. Once that was done, it took inordinate time for every license-issuing agency in every state and territory to build the technology and processes to make it happen.
Even then, the DHS HQ office late in 2021 admitted it had no mechanisms to fully implement the requirements. It was then that DHS announced they would toss the whole process back over the fence to TSA to implement. By then, I had moved 300 miles away from HQ and made it very clear I was ready to retire after 35 years of federal service. But as part of the “institutional memory” of the original process, they expected me to somehow help build the new TSA process. I “declined,” as politely as possible and finally retired six months later.
Needless to say, that move and the planning for full implementation was begun long before this president was in office again. Suggesting this administration was “responsible” is pure poppycock.
TSA now reports that more than 94% of air travelers already use Real ID-compliant licenses to board aircraft. I’m personally thrilled with that number. I worked very closely with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) to implement Real ID and on a second, earlier project, to conduct full security background checks for commercial drivers carrying hazardous materials.
While it’s a sidebar in the context of Real ID and probably contrary to most personal memories of driver licensing, it was the DMV’s that did the heavy lifting to make Real ID and other critical security measures happen. Maybe the next time you take a number and finally get to the counter, you can manage to offer a smile and a “thank you” for what they do for all of us.
Last note: as explained back in April, there are still lots of ways you can clear access to air travel and other federal “secure locations” without a Real ID license. If you have a current passport or a handful of other appropriate documents, you’re fine. Rather than list them here, I’ll send you to the official TSA page explaining the fee process. The link is below.
If you still haven’t secured your Real ID license, make a point to do so. Even if you never anticipate needing it, it’s a good “just in case” addition. Smiling at the DMV is harder sometimes but always appropriate.
TSA web page: https://www.tsa.gov/news/press/releases/2025/12/01/tsa-introduces-new-45-fee-option-for-travelers-without-real-id
