Travelers going through airport security checkpoints without a REAL ID or passport will face a $45 fee starting Feb. 1, the Transportation Security Administration announced Monday.

This fee is part of the agency's next phase of the REAL ID implementation process and will require individuals to verify their identity through a biometric or biographic system if they don't have a compliant form of identification before they're permitted to cross through the checkpoint.

The announcement follows a proposed rule published in the Federal Register last month, but the agency increased the fee from its previously proposed amount of $18.

Travelers wait at a TSA security checkpoint at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Romulus, Mich. AP Photo/Ryan Sun

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