The holiday travel season has begun. You might be booking your trip to see family for Thanksgiving or spending Christmas on a beach somewhere warm (Oh, how I envy you). But what happens if you forget your identification and you're at the airport already, trying to make it through the hour-long security line? Or what if you lost your I.D. a few days before your trip and you can't get a replacement in time? Is your trip a total loss? It might not be as bad as you think...

Photo by Anete Lūsiņa on Unsplash
Photo by Anete Lūsiņa on Unsplash
loading...

Can You Get Through TSA Without Your ID In New York State?

Before we get to the answer, you will soon need to make sure you have a REAL ID, Enhanced ID, or passport if you want to fly in the United States. If you only have your New York-issued license or identification card, you should be OK for holiday travel this year. However, the deadline for getting a REAL ID is quickly approaching. You will need to have your REAL ID by May 3, 2023. REAL IDs will be required for domestic flights, to enter federal buildings and military bases.

The REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the Federal Government 'set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver's licenses.' The Act established minimum security standards for license issuance and production and prohibits certain federal agencies from accepting for certain purposes driver’s licenses and identification cards from states not meeting the Act’s minimum standards. ~ Department of Homeland Security

You can compare the features of each of the IDs here, so you can choose which is right for your needs.

Photo by Phil Mosley on Unsplash
Photo by Phil Mosley on Unsplash
loading...

If you forget your I.D. or lose it before your flight, you may still be able to pass through security.

In the event you arrive at the airport without proper ID, because it is lost or at home, you may still be allowed to fly. By providing additional information, TSA has other ways to confirm your identity, like using publicly available databases, so you can reach your flight.

However, if for whatever reason, TSA can't verify your identity using other methods, you will not be allowed through the screening checkpoint, meaning you won't be able to board your flight.

If you travel frequently, you may want to consider CLEAR. I was traveling one day and the security line was RIDICULOUS, so I signed up for a free trial of CLEAR. I ended up keeping it because it does make life a bit easier and usually much quicker to get through security. It's not cheap, at $189 per year, so there's that. But...CLEAR's slogan is "All You Need Is You." This is true, as long as you're at an airport with CLEAR, you don't need an I.D. or passport. You have to provide identification when you first sign up, but after that, you just need your eyes or fingerprints.

CLEAR is available at JFK, La Guardia, and Westchester airports in New York, as well as Madison Square Garden and Yankee Stadium.

You can find more info about CLEAR here.

No Need To Show Your Boarding Pass At These 7 Airports In New York State

Winter Travel Tips in New York

How to Travel All Around the World Without Leaving Upstate New York

There is an unusually high number of Upstate New York communities which carry the same name as international cities and countries. Some Upstate towns were named so in honor of that faraway place. Other naming seems rather random at best. So settle in and take a trip to Cuba, Amsterdam, Rome, Cambridge, Mexico, Warsaw and other places without even leaving Upstate New York. Kind of.

We know there are many more than the 18 on this list, so let us hear from you!

More From We are Buffalo