MI Travelers Without REAL ID To Face New Fee Starting Feb. 1

Michigan domestic air travelers 18 and older who haven’t gotten their REAL IDs or other acceptable identification will begin paying a $45 “ConfirmID” fee on Feb. 1.

The Transportation Security Administration says the fee is designed to recover administrative costs associated with additional screening, including database checks, knowledge-based questions or biometrics.

The additional screening can take 10 to 30 minutes, according to the TSA. Fees can be prepaid at pay.gov to speed up the process. There’s no guarantee it will be able to confirm the identification of all travelers, though.

The ConfirmID is good for 10 days from the date of travel. Using the ConfirmID is optional, but the TSA warns that non-REAL ID-compliant travelers who don’t use it may not be allowed through security and may miss their flights.

REAL ID cards, which have been required since May, are still encouraged. These state-issued license or identification cards were mandated following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The deadline to acquire one was originally scheduled for 2008, but the deadline was repeatedly postponed.

To get a REAL ID in you will have to visit the Secretary of State with your current Michigan driver’s license or ID, a valid, unexpired U.S. passport, birth certificate, or other proof of legal presence document and a certified legal name-change document, if your name is different from what is on your birth certificate.

Valid enhanced Michigan licenses and IDs are automatically REAL ID-compliant. Valid U.S. passports and DHS Trusted Traveler’s cards are also already REAL ID-compliant.

Michiganders can click the link to find a DMV location where they can get a Real ID.

Michigan’s current license and ID design, which has a star in the upper right corner, will be phased out by January 2029. The new license design has a star in a silhouette of Michigan.

The Department of Homeland Security says about 94 percent of the air-traveling population is REAL ID compliant, meaning they’ve either gotten the updated driver’s licenses or have some acceptable form of identification, such as a valid U.S. passport, military identification or permanent resident card. TSA also accepts digital IDs through platforms such as Apple Wallet, Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet at more than 250 airports in the U.S.