Late last year, a thread on the SDMB alerted me to a plan by the TSA to stop accepting state ID cards (including driver licenses) from certain states as sufficient proof of a traveler’s identity.
One of the states mentioned was California, with a caveat that the state had requested a waiver, which, at the time, was still under consideration.
Meanwhile, back in November, my daughter and her friend had bought airline tickets for a trip to NYC for spring break. For that matter, there’s a possibility that I’ll be assigned to travel to Oklahoma in March.
Neither one of us has a passport, or the means to acquire one.
Does anyone know the current status of our DLs for purposes of air travel?
According to the most recent threatening press release, nothing will happen that passengers need to worry about until January 22, 2018. Also, the naughty list in that press release does not include California.
A US passport costs a minimum of $135. For some of us (like me - I let mine expire and it’s been long enough that I basically have to get a new one, but I have to have one for some travel this summer) that’s not a small chunk of money. Figure on two people and you’re looking at close to $300.
Wow. I thought ours were expensive at about half that.
How much do you guys pay for a driver’s license or state ID card? I don’t have one of those, because they cost almost the same as a passport and I need the passport when I travel outside Europe anyway. (Although when my passport got stolen on christmas with me flying home the next day having that ID card would have been helpful.)
Depends on the state and level of license (regular car or different form of commercial licenses), a basic car one in the many states I’ve lived in ranged from $10 to $60 (with a motorcycle endorsement).
Why?
Neither one of us has a passport, or the means to acquire one.
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I ghot one last summer, and it didn’t cost that much. Anyway, they last 10 years, which is twice as long as my driver’s license.
That can’t be true. I know someone who has a birth certificate with no father’s name, and she has traveled internationally several times, so she must have a passport (and no, she has never been in the military).
Also, in Texas, at the Bureau of Vital Statistics, you have a choice between the less expensive ‘short form’ birth certificate and the more expensive ‘long form’ birth certificate. Since we are a border state, only the ‘long form’ version is acceptable in order to obtain a passport.
That site says “Lists parent(s) full names.” Given that s is specifically in parentheses, I’d guess that an unknown father is fine as long as the mother’s name is in full. Some states even create birth certificates for foundlings under the age of 5.
Your daughter’s spring break trip to NYC will likely cost just as much or more than popular international spring break trips like Mexico.
That said, it’s not an issue now, but if your business is going to require you to fly then it seems fair that they cover the expense of getting a special ID if you don’t already have one.
It’s a big game of “chicken” that so far the feds have blinked as they’ve pushed the date back. I fully suspect that it will either not go live or all of the states will be compliant. It it were to go live today, I’d expect legal challenges from those who love in the affected states which would delay it’s implementation.
