by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:25 AM ET, Thu November 20, 2025
Travelers who don’t have a REAL ID or passport with them the next time they head to the airport might be charged an $18 fee, according to a new proposed rule by The Transportation Security Administration.
The new rule is located in the Federal Register and is currently under a public comment period, according to ABC News.
The rule would require those without a REAL ID, which went into effect this past May after twenty years of delayed implementation, or a passport, which is the alternative form of identification, to have their identity verified with a new biometric system and pay an $18 fee.
Travelers would have ten days of eligible travel before having to pay the fee and go through the biometric verification again the next time they visit an airport.
It may not be mandatory, though: the notice states that “Participation in the modernized alternative identity verification program is optional and does not guarantee an individual will be granted access to the sterile area of an airport.”
Why the fee? It’s the TSA’s new plan to fund the biometric verification system.
“TSA is working with stakeholders and partners to ensure both security and efficiency at our checkpoints,” a TSA spokesperson told ABC News. “Additional guidance will be announced in the coming days."
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