Can I use my birth certificate to fly domestic in the US?
Can I use my birth certificate to fly? For adults, a birth certificate cannot be used as a primary document when flying. However, it may be used together with other documents to confirm a traveler's identity if their ID was lost or stolen.
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If you don't have any acceptable alternate form of ID, a TSA employee will ask you to complete an identity verification process by filling out a TSA Form 415, also known as a Certification of Identity form. It asks for your full name, current address, signature and date.
Beginning May 7, 2025, every air traveler 18 years of age and older will need a REAL ID-compliant driver's license, state-issued enhanced driver's license, or another acceptable form of ID to fly within the United States.
Beginning May 3, 2023, U.S. travelers flying within the United States will need to show Transportation Security Administration agents either a security-enhanced driver's license that's Real ID-compliant or another T.S.A.-approved form of identification like a passport.
Add your state-issued eligible driver's license or identification card to your phone's digital wallet. Present your ID at select TSA PreCheck® checkpoints by tapping your phone or linked device. Your photo will be take by the TSA reader at security to proceed to screening.
You will be subject to additional screening, to include a patdown and screening of carry-on property. You will not be allowed to enter the security checkpoint if your identity cannot be confirmed, you choose to not provide proper identification or you decline to cooperate with the identity verification process.
If you only have an expired passport, you can still bring it along for domestic travel within the United States, but you must convince TSA officers that you are who you say you are. However, if you're traveling internationally, you must have a valid passport.
As of March 2023, there are no states that require passports from U.S. citizens to fly domestically. Your airline or the TSA should never ask you to present a valid passport. Of course, you could carry it with you for additional photo identification in case you lose your other forms of ID.
You do not need id to check in at Southwest. You need a confirmation number and your name. You can get that by logging in to your account or by referring to the e-mail that Southwest sent you when you completed the booking. If you don't know how to do that you can check in by using a credit card at the airport.
Firearms, ammunition, and fireworks are prohibited, as are all knives and safety razors (including pocket knives and Swiss Army knives). Straight razors and replacement blades for straight razors are also not allowed. Most tools also cannot be packed in carry-on luggage, as they have the potential to cause harm.
When a CAT unit is in use, a TSA officer will ask travelers to provide their photo IDs. The officer will insert each photo ID into the CAT unit where the ID is scanned and analyzed.
The TSA largely looks for physical evidence that a passenger could be a threat, so they'll generally have no reason to search through the data on your phone. After all, they're the Transportation Security Agency, not a detective agency. Even if they did have reason to want to access your phone, they'd need a warrant.
In the United States, you need a valid U.S. government-issued photo ID or a passport from your country of origin to travel through security. You must show that the name on your boarding pass matches the legal name on your unexpired government-issued ID.
Proof of age is required upon request for all passengers. Although government-issued photo identification is preferred, passengers under 18 years old may use other documentation which includes their birthdate such as a birth certificate.