# How Do I Find Out If I Am On A No-Fly List? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 18, 2005, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-i-am-on-a-no-fly-list/317600 "2005-08-18T16:40:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2005, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-i-am-on-a-no-fly-list/317600/1 "2005-08-18T16:40:41Z")
Is it a common list shared by all carriers? Would I be No Fly for one carrier but fine with others? Is it maintained by the TSA or by the airlines? I fear I am on it, or on one and wish to find out if I am before I have to fly again- which is in early- to mid-October. Anyone know how to find out? Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-i-am-on-a-no-fly-list/317600/2 "2005-08-18T17:32:40Z")
You can’t, exactly. And why would you want to, citizen? If you believe you may be on the TSA’s Watch List, though, you can send them a handy [Passenger Identity Verification Form](http://www.tsa.gov/public/display?theme=157&content=09000519800fb8af) and they _might_ be able to get you through the process a little easier. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-i-am-on-a-no-fly-list/317600/3 "2005-08-19T14:53:47Z")
-sigh- Why? Here’s why. Traces of explosives were found on my equipment the last time I flew from LAX to NYC. While the source of the traces is innocent as heck, the result was the same. I had to provide Driver’s License and Soc. Sec. # as well as other info, and was told I was being entered into TSA database. However, they said directly to me that the info was not passed along to the airlines. I disbelieve this. And so, I wish to find out if I am in for a very ugly surprise when next I chose to fly. ( Which is in a few weeks ) ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-i-am-on-a-no-fly-list/317600/4 "2005-08-19T15:00:28Z")
A friend of mine is so cheap he won’t buy more than one duffle bag so his “luggage” is the same bag that he carries his guns to and from the shooting range in. he got popped on a swab test. I’ll check with him to see if he has flown again since then. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-i-am-on-a-no-fly-list/317600/5 "2005-08-19T15:26:58Z")
I read in a newspaper a few days ago that an infant which just happened to have the same name as a terrorist on the No-Fly list was detained with his/her parents. I would think an accessible list would give the innocent a chance to pre-prepare his true identity and prevent mix-ups. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-i-am-on-a-no-fly-list/317600/6 "2005-08-19T15:32:57Z")
(eyes shifting back and forth) But won’t asking if you are on the list get you put on the list? After all, if you are _truly_ innocent it wouldn’t occur to you that you might be on it. No, don’t thank me for ramping up your paranoia. It’s a service I’ve provided free of charge since 1968, when my FBI agent scoutmaster’s son got the fingerprints of everybody else in the troop. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-i-am-on-a-no-fly-list/317600/7 "2005-08-19T15:57:35Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > And why would you want to, citizen? He’s to be referred to as a **subject** , not a citizen. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-i-am-on-a-no-fly-list/317600/8 "2005-08-19T16:23:20Z")
Step away from the keyboard **dropzone** and no one will be hurt. An old joke, possibly Stephen Wright, goes “I wrote to the FBI and asked if they had a file on me. they wrote back and said ‘we do now.’” ---
**Author:** ![NE\_Texan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e99b99/32.png) [@NE\_Texan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NE_Texan)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-i-am-on-a-no-fly-list/317600/9 "2005-08-19T19:36:06Z")
My teenage son is apparently on the “no-fly” list - or, more accurately, someone else with the same name is. He gets flagged every time we fly. It means his luggage always gets searched, he always gets taken off to the side, and when we check in, he can’t use the automatic machines that print boarding passes; we have to go talk to someone who checks and decides he isn’t the same person. It’s a hassle, but he still gets through. I’m not sure if that addresses your situation or not, though.