Flyers without REAL ID will be charged $45 TSA fee starting Feb. 1

CHARLOTTE, NC — The REAL ID deadline is coming up soon if you plan on flying. Starting February 1st, anyone going through TSA without a real id will have to pay a $45 fee.

Anyone 18 and older without the yellow star on their license will have to pay the fee.

For 9 years, TSA has been telling people they will need their Real ID’s. Finally, it’s happening.

“They have been telling us for a long time, but because they kept delaying it, I think that also led people to say, well, I’m just going to push it back,” said Charlotte resident, Javier Rodriguez.

We talked to people getting their Real IDs at the DMV on Arrowood Rd to beat the deadline. Many we heard from walked in because getting an appointment isn’t always easy.

We checked the DMV website on Wednesday afternoon, to find not a single opening across the state.

“There’s not been a measurable increase in demand at offices since this new fee has been announced.
Now, we may begin to see it here in the, uh, the next couple of weeks. But again, we’ve been offering real IDs for nine years,” said NC DMV spokesperson, Marty Homan.

Homan says about 58% of North Carolinians have their real ID.

If you’re one of the ones scrambling to get yours to avoid the fee, they recommend looking for an appointment at the stroke of midnight each weekday.