<p>QUICK! Just got a frantic e-mail from mom of DS’s teammate. The team is flying to an out-of-town tournament this weekend. This boy is under 18, does not drive. She went to DMV to get him an ID but they only mail them, and they’re leaving Friday morning. (Yes–she should have done this ages ago.) Anyway, boy does not have passport, does have birth certificate. I’m trying to help. All I find on TSA web site is documentation required for 18 and over. What will this boy need to fly (within the U.S.)? THANKS!!</p>
<p>This is from the TSA web site.</p>
<p>Q. What ID is needed for minors traveling domestically?
A. Minor children (younger than 18) are not required to provide an ID at the airport security checkpoint. They will just need their boarding pass.</p>
<p>[TSA:</a> TSA Contact Center Frequently Asked Questions](<a href=“http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/customer/editorial_1029.shtm]TSA:”>http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/customer/editorial_1029.shtm)</p>
<p>Shouldn’t need an id. But I’ve always wondered about the poor kids who look old for age. If I were him I’d take along something that proved my age, and possibly a picture id (school id).</p>
<p><em>Man</em> you guys rock. I love CC. I perused the TSA web site and could not find the info above. This is a large 17-year-old who will have his birth certificate with him. My kids’ school does picture IDs; I don’t think this kid’s does. Thanks so much for your help!</p>
<p>Your welcome, ingerp. I got lucky. I must have strung the right group of words together to go directly to that link. Good luck to your son and his team at their tournament.</p>
<p>According to the TSA website, it appears that if he is UNDER 18 years old (up to 17 years and 364 days) he does not need a government issued picture ID.
He cannot be 18 years old.
I would get the teammate’s parent to call the airline he is booked on with his travel itinerary and ask their representative specifically.
However, the kid should take school ID, Bank card ID with pix.</p>
<p>Thanks for the good wishes! The team is headed to FLA–not the parents, though. :(</p>
<p>They might want to try their townhall, county clerk or local police department. Our town police department does picture id cards.</p>
<p>S1 flew a number of times before he was 18 with his birth certificate (to prove that he was not yet 18, as he was 17 and tall). One time he was having trouble finding it, and they were not going to let him through. So be sure that the boy is able to prove that he is under 18.</p>
<p>S2 was 6’2" at the end of eighth grade. He learned to carry his ID early on. The funny part was that his passport photo was taken when he was 12 (short, straight hair), but when he used it at the airport at 17, it looked NOTHING like the 6’4", long, curly-haired, bearded guy he’d become. The TSA agent cracked up. Fortunately S2 also had his learner’s permit. </p>
<p>Student photo ID and birth certificate should be OK.</p>
<p>In Maryland, one can get a gov’t issued ID at the DMV on site, the same day. We found this out the hard way the morning S1 was leaving for a competition where he had to have a gov’t issued ID. Found the missing learner’s permit underneath the front seat of the car a week later. :)</p>
<p>And tell the parents to get a passport for the kid, even though no foreign travel is looming. Our D didn’t get her driver’s license until she was 19, so having a passport made flying easy. Plus, you never know when you’ll have to take that emergency trip to Europe. :)</p>
<p>I got S1 a “certified birth certificate” from one of the county offices (can’t remember which one). They cost $10 a piece so I got two. Luckily, we still live in the county where he was born. He was going on a trip to Mexico with a friend and his mom in 2005 before passports were required for Mexico. I was afraid to send his original birth certificate off with him for fear we’d never see it again. S1 has a tendency to “misplace” things.
The certified copy worked just fine.</p>
<p>Our college daughter just used her school i.d. card, but forgot it the last time she flew. she turned 18 right before her flight, but was able to board by saying she was still 17. I think kids get a break in this dept.</p>
<p>by the way ingerp…FL…to the water polo tournament???</p>
<p>School ID (with picture) has worked for my kids.</p>
<p>School picture ID worked for my D too. Once, when we were flying together, they let her on with no ID at all — she’d forgotten hers at home.</p>
<p>No school ID for this kid (private schools–go figure!). I think he’ll be fine with his birth certificate, and we remembered he does have a team player pass with his picture on it. And shellz–not water polo, soccer. (Tough life these kids have!)</p>
<p>I once flew with my son and discovered after we got to the airport that he’d forgotten his ID. He was over 18, but the TSA guy basically told me to lie. They did give him an extra frisking, which was fine with me.</p>
<p>My D has forgotten ALL ID before (she was 20), but she was with her brother who was 22, so she just pretended she was under 18 and being supervised by him (she does look 12). We did rush back & get her purse & handed it to her before her flight left or she would have returned to school w/o ID, wallet & all that was in her purse. 
</p>
<p>I agree that the student should go to city hall wherever he’s attending college & get a photo ID, even if it costs $10-20 or so. Passports are useful as well, especially if the student MAY travel to Mexico, Canada, Europe, or just needs it for planes in the US, particularly if the student doesn’t tend to misplace them (they are pretty expensive).</p>
<p>Our state (& likely many others) issues driver’s permits that include color photos on them & they are just like driver’s licenses in appearance except they say they are permits and only last a year.</p>
<p>This kid is just a hs junior, and our state does issue ID cards to minors, although the mom found out yesterday that you don’t get it immediately, only through snail mail. Why she waited until three days before the trip is anybody’s guess. . .</p>
<p>TSA has treated my Ds decently, even when they’ve forgotten to carry ID. (What is it with teenagers? Forget money or make up … never. But the ID gets left on the dresser.) School ID worked fine when they were younger. A Driver’s License is better. But a Passport gets the most respect in our family’s experience.</p>