The enforcement gap
The TSA's new $45 ConfirmID fee went live February 1 for travelers without REAL ID-compliant documents. The fee covers a 10-day period of identity verification through biometric/biographic checks that can take 10-30+ minutes at security checkpoints.
Here's what's interesting: No federal statute actually requires ID to fly domestically. The requirement traces back to a 1996 presidential order - policy, not law. The REAL ID Act of 2005 only specifies which IDs federal agencies must accept when ID is required, not whether flying requires ID at all.
Travel industry regulatory expert Edward Hasbrouck argues the fee violates existing law by charging for a right that already exists. The TSA's position: it's an optional verification service. Pay the fee for faster processing, or face potential denial at the checkpoint. Worth noting - there's no boarding guarantee either way.
Enterprise implications
For corporate travel managers, this creates a compliance puzzle. The DoD already excluded ConfirmID fees from travel reimbursements. Other enterprise travel policies will need updating.
The TSA says 94%+ of passengers already carry acceptable ID (REAL ID, passport, Global Entry). The verification system relies on commercial data brokers and integrates with digital identity infrastructure - potentially relevant for organizations using enterprise travel platforms like Concur.
The fee jumped from a proposed $18 to $45 due to operating costs. It's user-funded, not taxpayer-funded. The TSA emphasizes this is about enforcement of existing REAL ID policy, not new requirements.
The pattern
Legal challenges to TSA ID policies have historically failed not on merits but on standing. When passenger Phil Mocek was arrested for filming TSA procedures, he was acquitted after a TSA officer testified there's no law against flying without ID. But qualified immunity protected the agents who arrested him, leaving Mocek with $34,000 in legal bills.
This creates a practical enforcement mechanism without statutory backing - policy backed by inconvenience and cost, not law. Oklahoma legislators are currently challenging their state's planned upload of driver license data to the federal SPEXS database, arguing it exceeds federal requirements.
The real question: Can federal agencies enforce ID requirements through fees and delays when no statute mandates ID in the first place? We'll see if anyone tests it in court. The last person who tried paid $34,000 for the privilege of being proven right.