Do kids need ID for boarding airplane?

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

We leave tomorrow and I just printed our boarding passes. Now I'm wondering if my boys will need some sort of ID?? I know this question has been asked a thousand times...

 

[pamjb]

No ID needed unless they are over 18.

 

[dudspizza]

No ID needed unless they are over 18.

Yep, they won't ask at all. The only type of identification that would be needed is a birth certificate if you are flying with a lap baby under the age of 2.

Have fun!

Duds

 

[RainbowsMist]

We flew from BOS to MCO in March and we had to show ID. We had Birth Certificates as well as Photo ID's for all of us.

There were security officers standing to the side of the line-up while we were waitng to go through security. One by one she took the photo ID's and compared them to all of us.

 

[Lewisc]

Yep, they won't ask at all. The only type of identification that would be needed is a birth certificate if you are flying with a lap baby under the age of 2.

Have fun!

Duds

You might also be asked for proof of age if you're flying with an infant, youth or any other age related fare.

 

[goofy4tink]

We flew from BOS to MCO in March and we had to show ID. We had Birth Certificates as well as Photo ID's for all of us.

There were security officers standing to the side of the line-up while we were waitng to go through security. One by one she took the photo ID's and compared them to all of us.

Wow....I've flown numerous times out of Boston and my dd has never been asked for any ID. She's been flying since she was 4, now 13, and it's never been an issue. She does carry her school ID card, with photo, when she travels though. But she has never been asked for it.
Hope things aren't changing...that would be a problem for those who don't have IDs for their kids.

 

[tjmw2727]

We flew from BOS to MCO in March and we had to show ID. We had Birth Certificates as well as Photo ID's for all of us.

There were security officers standing to the side of the line-up while we were waitng to go through security. One by one she took the photo ID's and compared them to all of us.

I just flew from Philly with my dd's (10 and 12) in and out of logan in late March as well as from Philly to and from Orlando two weeks ago and I did not need photo id for them in Orlando, Logan or Philly.

Rainbowsmist, I think because you had them the TSA appreciated you making their work easer and gladly accepted them. If you didn't have id for the kids they would simply have asked the kids for their names to match to the boarding pass.

So to the OP - don't worry!

Here is the information directly from the TSA website: (bold is mine)
"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"

and the link to the entire security procedure - its very helpful when traveling:
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/index.shtm#0

TJ

 

[pamjb]

I did have my kids passports with me and had them out. TSA in Philly did check them. When I handed them to TSA in Orlando, he asked my oldest how old he was. When he said 17, TSA handed the passports back to me and said he didn't need to see the kids.

 

[Hannathy]

Could the reason they checked Rainbowmist's have to do with her being from Nova Scotia? I am just guessing but in the states you do not need Id for kids unless they are in the under 2 free seats.

 

[Piecey]

A friend of mine (He's 6'7") flew to Texas with another friend. They had a lot of hassel with the airport because the boarding agent didn't believe him when he didn't have a Government ID. He was 15.

He HAD to show them his school ID (luckily he had it) that had his grade on it-- He was a freshmen.

So.. anyway.. moral of my story-- while I'm sure there aren't a lot of 6'7" 15 yr olds running around, beware of how old your kids may look vs. their age.