ID Requirements for Airport Checkpoints

Effective June 21, 2008, adult passengers (18 and over) are required to show a U.S. federal or state-issued photo ID that contains the following: name, date of birth, gender, expiration date and a tamper-resistant feature in order to be allowed to go through the checkpoint and onto their flight.

New & Important TSA Requirements.

Please be advised, the information printed here was checked for conformity on May 16, 2009, but as with any government rule or airline regulation, changes may occur. It is possible TSA will escalate or delay the start date of this new mandatory process.

Beginning May 15th 2009, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will require you, when making a reservation, to provide:

• your full name EXACTLY as it reads on the government issued I.D. with which you travel,
• your date of birth and
• your gender.

This information will not be optional. The purpose of collecting these details is to allow TSA to perform terrorist watch list matching that is currently being done by each airline. Failure to provide the required elements could: (1) inhibit your ability to get a boarding pass (2) require you to undergo additional airport security screening (3) result in denied boarding of your flight.

We spoke with United and Alaska Airlines and were advised that this new rule will not be fully implemented until around August 2009 to give existing passengers time to complete existing travel arrangements. Typical of the government, these rules are not referenced on their website.

Secure Flight Rules Regarding Name
Your name must match LETTER FOR LETTER what your government issued I.D. for which you are using shows. If the name on your I.D. is "Mary Jean Blackstone" then the name on your ticket cannot read "Mary J. Blackstone".
Prefixes such as Ms., Mr., Dr. or Rev. are not allowed under Secure Flight, regardless of what is on your I.D.
Suffixes such as Jr. and III are not allowed under Secure Flight, regardless of what is on your I.D.

Passport Name vs. Driver’s License Name
In many cases, the name listed on each of these documents differs slightly. If the name on your state driver’s license does not match EXACTLY with your passport name you have two choices:

• Either change the name on your driver’s license to match your passport. Prefered.
• Always carry your passport as your government issued I.D. for both domestic and international travel.
• Remember: you cannot change the name on your passport as it must EXACTLY match your birth certificate.

At this time, hotel and rental car companies do not require this exact name match requirement. May 16, 2009

From now on, passengers should strive to obtain consistency between the name on their ID with their travel information and reservations.