Birth certificate to fly with kids?

[rmjkharrisfam]

For those of you who have flown with small children did you bring birth certificates for them?

We are flying with DS4 and DD2 from Minneapolis to Orlando.

Do I need to bring them? Do they need any kind of identification for security? I haven't flown with them before and I'm not sure what the rules are.

Thanks!!!!

 

[tjmw2727]

No, id is only requred for travelers 18 and older. The exception would be if you are flying with an infant on your lap for free or if you booked a child or reduced fare price then you would need proof for the airline not TSA.

From the TSA:
"We encourage each adult traveler to keep his/her airline boarding pass and government-issued photo ID available until exiting the security checkpoint (children are not required to show identification). The absence of proper identification will result in additional screening."

Here is the info for travelers directly from the TSA website. I recommend reading prior to air travel:
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/index.shtm

TJ

 

[freckles and boo]

Technically, no, you don't usually need ID for security. Some airlines require it for infants to lap sit. Even so, I think it is a good idea just in case and we always take copies when we travel. We also just applied for passports and will be getting our girls state photo IDs soon. Here in Illinois there is no age limit. You never know what could come up. I recall reading about a family with adopted children who didn't look like their parents having a problem proving they were the children's parents. Personally, I have a child with autism so someone could grab her and say "This is my kid" and (depending on her mood) she might not be able to tell someone who Mommy is.

 

[lisajo5]

I have to bring my son's birth certificate. He is going to be 8, but his name (first and last) is on the terrorist watch list and we get stopped every time. It throws off the ticket agents because he is a kid, but they always have to get extra security to come down and "question" my son, which usually involves them joking with him. My son is named after his grandfather and the same thing happens to him and it is more serious because he is an adult.

I have found that I can get a state id for him and that makes the situation a whole lot easier.

I would bring it just to be safe, but then again with my situation I have to.

Good luck.

 

[skjuls]

Technically, no, you don't usually need ID for security. Some airlines require it for infants to lap sit. Even so, I think it is a good idea just in case and we always take copies when we travel. We also just applied for passports and will be getting our girls state photo IDs soon. Here in Illinois there is no age limit. You never know what could come up. I recall reading about a family with adopted children who didn't look like their parents having a problem proving they were the children's parents. Personally, I have a child with autism so someone could grab her and say "This is my kid" and (depending on her mood) she might not be able to tell someone who Mommy is.

Southwest requires a birth certificate for lap infants.

I probably should take my son's passport with me when I travel. He has autism and does not look anything like me at all. So someone could think that he wasn't mine and he's not adopted. He has blond hair and blue eyes and is pale white. I am tanned, brown hair and eyes. If my father, his grandfather was with me then it would be ok since he looks like my dad.

LOL!

 

[betsywdw]

I have never needed it but I take DD's along just to be safe.

 

[Tinker_]

BRING THEM. We almost missed our flight leaving DFW due to this. I brought my sons SS card, but didn't think of his birth certificate. They wanted to verify his age (he is 1). Even if you don't have a 'lap child' (which is the reason they needed to verify his age) you never know what might happen. Not long ago a little girl was on an Amber alert here, and someone thought they saw her getting on a plane in OKC, and called police. The parents had to prove the girl they were with was thier daughter! You just never know- play it safe and bring it, or at least a copy.

 

[Honeymooner04]

I keep a copy of my daughters birth certificate folded up and in a pocket in my wallet. I've never had to use it and we travel a lot but I just like knowing it's there.

 

[Mandygrrl]

You only need it if you need to prove your child's age to the airline, in terms of reduced fares or lap children.

However, I recommend you bring it along. We've always brought DD's birth certificate until we got a passport for her (she is 2yo) simply because we always wanted to be able to prove her identity. It's such a small document, you may as well keep it in your purse while flying.

 

[freckles and boo]

Southwest requires a birth certificate for lap infants.

I probably should take my son's passport with me when I travel. He has autism and does not look anything like me at all. So someone could think that he wasn't mine and he's not adopted. He has blond hair and blue eyes and is pale white. I am tanned, brown hair and eyes. If my father, his grandfather was with me then it would be ok since he looks like my dad.

LOL!

I don't know about your son, but if my daughter is having a doozy of a meltdown people could easily misinterpret her behavior. I wouldn't want anyone to think I was kidnapping her just because she is thrown over my shoulder and screaming her head off. She actually is doing so much better and loves to travel, but, like all kids, she gets overwhelmed sometimes. She looks like her dad, too!

 

[kileybeth]

a little off topic but

we decided to make a quick trip into Canada on our way back home from a road trip to Minnesota.

We had no id with us for three smaller children. (older son had his driving permit and his passport!)

they pulled us over and asked us to go inside.

We looked a total mess after 12 hours in the car, baby had just fallen asleep, etc. ..

they looked at dh and my drivers liscense, my older sons passport and then zeroed in on my then dd8, asking her one question only.

"Do you know these people?" with a gesture of the hand toward us.
she mistakenly looked beyond us to a group of people who had just come inside off a tour bus and stated loudly and clearly "I have never seen them before!" with some alarm in her voice!

it all worked out after a few more questions, pocket photos, stern reminders to carry id's, etc. but lesson learned, never travel anywhere w/o id for your kiddos!

 

[tjmw2727]

For those of you who have flown with small children did you bring birth certificates for them?

We are flying with DS4 and DD2 from Minneapolis to Orlando.

Do I need to bring them? Do they need any kind of identification for security? I haven't flown with them before and I'm not sure what the rules are.

Thanks!!!!

No, don't worry you don't need id for children. The TSA dosen't require it and the airlines themselves only require it to verfiy a discount fare based on age.

We fly many times each year and I have never been asked for ID for my children when flying domestically. I have also traveled with my neices who not only don't look anything like me they are of another race. No questions asked, all the airline and TSA want is to verify that the name on the ticket matches the passenger. They don't care who they are travling with or why just that the names match.

For those suggesting you bring it "just in case" I guess its in the why not category. For those that don't have documentation for your children please don't worry. No need to run to the DMV or the Town Hall for documents.

So again, check any airlines website as well as the tsa website and the official answer is that id is not necessary for children under 18.

FWIW with all the extra travel restrictions these days I recommend checking the TSA website a few times prior to travel anyway. I posted the link above.

TJ

 

[all4fun]

We've flown numerous times (domestically) with children who were not our own, with no ID (but did have a note from their mom) and we never had a problem. DS has always had his own seat on the plane even at 13mos and we were never asked for ID for him either. I agree with the pp...I would put it in the "why not" and "it wouldn't hurt to carry it" category but you don't need to run out and get any special documents just for the trip.

As a pp pointed out though - if you're going outside the contiguous U.S. border then the rules are different now. No more hopping between the U.S. & Canada or Mexico unless you have a passport.

 

[rmjkharrisfam]

Thanks for all of the responses! I knew you guys would know the answer. These boards are great!!!! This makes me feel a lot better. I found DD's but I can't find DS's anywhere. We're in the process of packing up our house for sale. I know I put the important documents in a box and marked it but I can't find it for the life of me. At least now I know we can get on the plane.

 

[dhardawa]

The only time I have ever needed a birth certificate is when Emily flies by herself. She is very little and they don't think she is five (she is actually 7 1/2). But, it never hurts to be overprepared.