ID needed flying with DDs and no DW?

[tjmw2727]

How do they know they aren't your children if they don't require ID?

So I can take my kids anywhere in the US without ID, even though one of them looks nothing like me (international adoption) and both of them have a different last name than the one on my ID? They will just believe me when I say that they are my kids?

Why shouldn't you be able to take your kids anywhere in the us without having to "prove" it ?

The TSA doesn't care who is traveling with whom only that the name of the passenger matches the name on the boarding pass.

Travelers under 18 don't need ID to clear security, nor do they need permission to travel etc - within the US.

I travel with my nieces and nephew as well as my kids as the solo adult fairly often and lets say we look like the UN - and several of us have different last names. Never ever had even a raised eyebrow at TSA, just a simple what is your name, sometimes where are you going and sometimes who are you traveling with, the questions vary.

Now there "are" situations where the airline may require proof of age, a lap child is the most common example. They also may ask for a special childs fareor an over 65 fare but these are rare as the typical internet fares are usually cheaper.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

When my TA booked my flights she told me to have the kids birth certificates on hand. I do not want to bring those with us on a trip.

I was planning to take my kids to the DMV to get them an ID made. They do minor State IDs now.

Looks like that's not necessary? I would rather not have an ID for my 11 and 9 year old out in the world, and I am not bringing birth certificates with us. We are flying from Indianapolis to Orlando, so it's domestic.

Glad I found this post!

Wow. I would find it hard to trust a TA who apparently has never traveled by air.

The TSA doesn't care who you are traveling with! They aren't going to grill you about any children you're traveling with on a domestic flight.

 

[Stephaniesue]

Wow. I would find it hard to trust a TA who apparently has never traveled by air.

The TSA doesn't care who you are traveling with! They aren't going to grill you about any children you're traveling with on a domestic flight.

My TA is a family friend that I have known for almost 20 years. I trust her very much. I think she just wanted to make sure we didn't have problems since its our first time flying.

Thanks everyone for the clarification!

 

[stitchlovestink]

Pretty much. Although as I stated in my earlier post, the TSA will question the child if they are old enough to talk. For us, it's always gone something like this:

"Hi! What's your name? (check against boarding pass) I like your shirt. Is pink your favorite color? (friendly smile) Who's this person behind you? Is she going with you on your trip? (nodding to mom, checking that the child knows the adult they are traveling with and are comfortable with them) Where are you going? (again, checking against the boarding pass and checking that the child isn't in distress) Disney World? I bet you'll have fun. Do you have a favorite princess? Well, have fun and say hi to Mickey for me."

To the child, it just seems like the agent is being friendly. To an adult, we know they are verifying the child is okay traveling with the adult they are with and that the name matches the boarding pass.

Wow! Your conversations have been much more extensive than ours. LOL! Ours was usually which one of you is xxxx and which one is yyyyy (because I handed them all of the boarding passes at one time). And then maybe either how old are you or when is your birthday. Rarely have they ever been chatty with my kids. Now the younger one just turned 18 so she will need her ID to fly.
And I have taken other kids with me on a flight that were not mine and no one batted an eye!

 

[SunshineTK]

I was advised by an airline ticket agent that it is a good idea to travel with a copy of a birth certificate in the event of an Amber Alert being issued. She said that she has seen people be held up at the airport because of not having id's for their kids. I'm just communicating what I was told and yes, I travel with copies.

 

[disneyag]

I have traveled all over the US with my kids, without my husband (their dad). I have never been asked whose kids they are. Until they turned 18, they didn't need any sort of id. I've also brought them both on international trips with me (without their dad.) Although we needed passports, we never needed dad's "permission" for me to leave the country with them. No one even asked me if they were my kids.

 

[gwynne]

I have traveled all over the US with my kids, without my husband (their dad). I have never been asked whose kids they are. Until they turned 18, they didn't need any sort of id. I've also brought them both on international trips with me (without their dad.) Although we needed passports, we never needed dad's "permission" for me to leave the country with them. No one even asked me if they were my kids.

I think currently there is a big difference in domestic and international travel with regard to this issue.
There is some possibly helpful information especially about international travel on the the US Customs and Border Protection website.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/de...-one-parent-or-someone-who-is-not-a-parent-or

 

[tjmw2727]

I was advised by an airline ticket agent that it is a good idea to travel with a copy of a birth certificate in the event of an Amber Alert being issued. She said that she has seen people be held up at the airport because of not having id's for their kids. I'm just communicating what I was told and yes, I travel with copies.

Kids don't have ID's, kids don't need ID's and fwiw a BC is not an "acceptable form of ID" where the TSA is concerned anyway. I have no idea what good a copy of a BC would do in the event of an amber alert as it doesn't prove that the child with you is the child listed on the BC only that there is such a child.

Lots of well meaning people give out this advice thinking they are helping but really it just causes folks to go out and pay for BC's, walking ID's and notarized letters they don't really need.

 

[Lewisc]

When my TA booked my flights she told me to have the kids birth certificates on hand. I do not want to bring those with us on a trip.

I was planning to take my kids to the DMV to get them an ID made. They do minor State IDs now.

Looks like that's not necessary? I would rather not have an ID for my 11 and 9 year old out in the world, and I am not bringing birth certificates with us. We are flying from Indianapolis to Orlando, so it's domestic.

Glad I found this post!

I'm going to, politely, disagree with other posters in this thread. Proof of age can be required if the TA booked the kids tickets with an age qualified fare. Some airlines still offer youth or child fares. Frequently the adult fare we book on the internet are the cheapest, even for kids. Occassionaly there may be a savings with kids fares.

Most of the posters are assuming the TA is wrong in telling the poster to bring a copy of the BC for the kids.

Why are we assuming the TA doesn't know anything? We should at least consider the possibility the TA is right. Was able to get, a modest discount, by booking an age qualified fare.

Otherwise I agree with the other posters. Kids under 18 don't need ID for security. There is absolutely no reason to bring ID for security. Letters are not needed.

PP is correct. Rules for international travel are different. You frequently need a notarized letter if a child will only be traveling with one parent. Something to remember if your flight gets cancelled and your family winds up taking different flights.

 

[tjmw2727]

I'm going to, politely, disagree with other posters in this thread. Proof of age can be required if the TA booked the kids tickets with an age qualified fare. Some airlines still offer youth or child fares. Frequently the adult fare we book on the internet are the cheapest, even for kids. Occassionaly there may be a savings with kids fares.

Most of the posters are assuming the TA is wrong in telling the poster to bring a copy of the BC for the kids.

Why are we assuming the TA doesn't know anything? We should at least consider the possibility the TA is right. Was able to get, a modest discount, by booking an age qualified fare.

Otherwise I agree with the other posters. Kids under 18 don't need ID for security. There is absolutely no reason to bring ID for security. Letters are not needed.

PP is correct. Rules for international travel are different. You frequently need a notarized letter if a child will only be traveling with one parent. Something to remember if your flight gets cancelled and your family winds up taking different flights.

I agree - and I did mention proof of age for "age qualified fares" in my prior post but that is for the airlines not the TSA. That wouldn't necessarily stop the child from flying but it could result in a price increase on the ticket.

Fact is that kids don't need ID to travel !

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Wow! Your conversations have been much more extensive than ours. LOL! Ours was usually which one of you is xxxx and which one is yyyyy (because I handed them all of the boarding passes at one time). And then maybe either how old are you or when is your birthday. Rarely have they ever been chatty with my kids. Now the younger one just turned 18 so she will need her ID to fly.
And I have taken other kids with me on a flight that were not mine and no one batted an eye!

I've always assumed it's because DD has a different last name than me and it's almost always just the two of us traveling together. DD always gets asked the 3 salient questions: What's your name? Who is traveling with you? and Where are you going? The rest of the filler questions could be because DD is a Chatty Cathy and will engage with the TSA agent rather than shying away or giving short answers. It ends up being more of a conversation than a short question and answer session.