COLUMBIA — Starting Feb. 1, passengers at the Columbia Regional Airport could be fined for not having a REAL ID.
In January, Transportation Security Agency launched "TSA ConfirmID," an identity-verification program that allows people who arrive without a REAL ID to confirm their identity. However passengers who use the program will be fined $45 and still might not be allowed through security, according to the TSA website.
TSA ConfirmID is valid for a single passenger for up to 10 days. After that time period, the passenger is required to pay the fee again. Passengers can also pay online ahead of time at TSA.gov.
Obtaining a REAL ID before travel will allow passengers to avoid fees and go through security checkpoints faster, COU said in a press release.
"I think it's a good way to get people to get a REAL ID and make it more widespread, but I think it's a bit much," said Jacob Scomian, a student at the University of Missouri who plans on flying within the next year. "Maybe some people aren't able to get a real ID and they'll have to pay the price."
The TSA stopped taking non-compliant drivers licenses as proof of identity in May 2025, nearly 20 years after congress passed the REAL ID Act. The act prevents people without a real ID from accessing federal facilities, boarding federally regulated aircraft and entering nuclear power plants.
The act was supposed to be enforced in all states in 2008 but faced several delays and extensions. In 2023, the Department of Homeland Security announced the final extension to May 7, 2025.
What counts as a real ID?
- State-issued REAL ID-compliant driver's licenses or identification cards
- State-issued enhanced driver's license, EDL, or enhanced identification card, EID
- Mobile driver's licenses, mDLs. TSA accepts certain mDLs issued by states that have been approved for federal use.
- U.S. passport or U.S. passport card
- DHS Trusted traveler cards: Global entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST
- U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
- Permanent resident card
- Border crossing card
- An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian tribe, including Enhanced Tribal Cards, ETCs
- HSPD-12 PIV card
- Foreign government-issued passport
- Canadian provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
- Transportation Worker Identification Credential, TWIC
- U.S. citizenship and immigration services employment authorization card, I-766
- U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential
- Veteran Health Identification card, VHIC
