3 ms·

Is There a Legal Requirement to Show ID at Airport Security?

7 points by greyface- 3y ago

elmerfud 3y ago
It's an interesting distinction but perhaps a distinction without a difference. They are allowed to have a security check point and to have rules about who can pass. An identification card is a common way of reasonably establishing identity to cross the checkpoint but not the only way. Trying the "you can't legally my ID card" route will likely have you miss your flight while they are establishing your ID another way. So, listing that a read-id identity card is needed seems reasonable because if you listed every alternative it would give the perception that all are equal in the amount of time it takes to establish who you are. This isn't just a TSA thing either, police do this as well. It's very dependent on the state laws but but they'll ask for your license or an ID but the law doesn't always allow them to require that. Some will either lie or be mistaken and tell you it's required when it's not. Some states it is required to surrender ID prior to arrest, others you can totally refuse, others you might be required to provide a name, etc... The police demands without a legal requirement are far more problematic to me than the TSA where you've already you've already had to surrender a great amount of personal information just to get the airline ticket. Because the purpose of the TSA doing this is not in regards to a criminal investigation and fits in the "narrowly tailored" generally allowed by the courts.
- singleshot_ 3y ago
  Agree with the vast majority of your comment. Presenting at the checkpoint with no ID is absolutely possible although I’m sure it depends on one’s ability to comply. When I have tried this, I was told to wait a moment for a supervisor, who asked me a few basic questions (name, ssn, address), disappeared into a room for a moment, and re-emerged with a bunch more very detailed questions (who was in your business meeting today and what was the address, who was your last employer, what’s the last home address you filed taxes from before your current one). I estimate the process added ten minutes to my journey. In fact it happened so quickly that I was left with the impression that this is a high-frequency event at any major US airport.
  - namaria 3y ago
    I'd much rather just show some id then have some random person sifting through so much personal data and reciting it out loud in a crowded place.
- landemva 3y ago
  >> you've already had to surrender a great amount of personal information just to get the airline ticket. In past couple years in EU and USA, I paid for tickets via debit card with address of a PO Box. And my first name is a nickname different than my DL which is also misspelled. What great amount of info did I surrender? In USA I have found it simple and quick to misplace my wallet and clear TSA - just be pleasant. And I have never gone through the full body scans. I pleasantly opt out and typically sail through the metal detector. And in past couple years TSAers hand my wind-up film camera around all the screening. TSA is an expensive show.
  - kelipso 3y ago
    How do you opt out of the full body scans? You just ask them and they let you then the gate instead?
    - landemva 3y ago
      Because it may be considered invasive / untested medical procedure / not have proper privacy safeguards, it is voluntary. There are various ways of politely declining. Try some approaches until they routinely put you through the metal detector without the feelz.

7 points by greyface- 3y ago

It's an interesting distinction but perhaps a distinction without a difference. They are allowed to have a security check point and to have rules about who can pass. An identification card is a common way of reasonably establishing identity to cross the checkpoint but not the only way. Trying the "you can't legally my ID card" route will likely have you miss your flight while they are establishing your ID another way. So, listing that a read-id identity card is needed seems reasonable because if you listed every alternative it would give the perception that all are equal in the amount of time it takes to establish who you are. This isn't just a TSA thing either, police do this as well. It's very dependent on the state laws but but they'll ask for your license or an ID but the law doesn't always allow them to require that. Some will either lie or be mistaken and tell you it's required when it's not. Some states it is required to surrender ID prior to arrest, others you can totally refuse, others you might be required to provide a name, etc... The police demands without a legal requirement are far more problematic to me than the TSA where you've already you've already had to surrender a great amount of personal information just to get the airline ticket. Because the purpose of the TSA doing this is not in regards to a criminal investigation and fits in the "narrowly tailored" generally allowed by the courts.

singleshot_ 3y ago
Agree with the vast majority of your comment. Presenting at the checkpoint with no ID is absolutely possible although I’m sure it depends on one’s ability to comply. When I have tried this, I was told to wait a moment for a supervisor, who asked me a few basic questions (name, ssn, address), disappeared into a room for a moment, and re-emerged with a bunch more very detailed questions (who was in your business meeting today and what was the address, who was your last employer, what’s the last home address you filed taxes from before your current one). I estimate the process added ten minutes to my journey. In fact it happened so quickly that I was left with the impression that this is a high-frequency event at any major US airport.
- namaria 3y ago
  I'd much rather just show some id then have some random person sifting through so much personal data and reciting it out loud in a crowded place.
landemva 3y ago
>> you've already had to surrender a great amount of personal information just to get the airline ticket. In past couple years in EU and USA, I paid for tickets via debit card with address of a PO Box. And my first name is a nickname different than my DL which is also misspelled. What great amount of info did I surrender? In USA I have found it simple and quick to misplace my wallet and clear TSA - just be pleasant. And I have never gone through the full body scans. I pleasantly opt out and typically sail through the metal detector. And in past couple years TSAers hand my wind-up film camera around all the screening. TSA is an expensive show.
- kelipso 3y ago
  How do you opt out of the full body scans? You just ask them and they let you then the gate instead?
  - landemva 3y ago
    Because it may be considered invasive / untested medical procedure / not have proper privacy safeguards, it is voluntary. There are various ways of politely declining. Try some approaches until they routinely put you through the metal detector without the feelz.