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Can you fly alone without a passport?

As an adult over the age of 18, you need a valid government form of ID to board a plane in the U.S., according to the TSA. If you're flying internationally, you will need to show your passport or passport card.



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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.

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United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requests written consent from both parents or the parent who is not accompanying the minor for minors (those less than 18 years of age) traveling to the U.S. alone or accompanied by only one parent. This written consent must be in English.

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Our unaccompanied minor service is required for kids 5-14, and optional for those 15-17, who are traveling alone. Here's how to book a ticket and prepare your child for their trip.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Quick answer: No. A government-issued photo ID, such as a state-issued ID card, is sufficient for domestic air travel. In other words, using your passport as a government-issued photo ID is possible but not mandatory. Your state-issued driver's license, for instance, is sufficient to board your domestic flight.

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If your ID card is expired, damaged, or in the paper form, you can still get through airport security but it depends on when your ID expired and what other supporting documents you have to verify your ID in the latter two cases.

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Identification
  • Driver's licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent) ...
  • U.S. passport.
  • 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.


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Digital Identification Download a TSA approved digital ID app to your mobile device. Scan in your state-issued driver's license or state ID. At select TSA PreCheck® checkpoints, scan the app issued QR code. Your photo will be taken by the TSA reader at security to proceed to screening.

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As a general rule, passports must be valid for six months beyond the date the traveler will exit the United States.

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Most U.S. airlines will permit children who have reached their fifth birthday to travel unaccompanied. Kids ages 5 through 11 who are flying alone must usually travel pursuant to special “unaccompanied minor” procedures. On some airlines, these procedures are required for unaccompanied children as old as 14.

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A birth certificate or passport as proof of the child's age. The adult's government-issued photo ID with their current address. Your phone number so we can contact you. The name, address and phone number of the adult meeting your child at their destination.

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