Photo ID needed for kids to fly?

[Ron&BB]

Flying SW out of Houston to WDW in June with DS11 & 14.Do they need
"photo ID" to get boarding passes and to fly?If so what type of photo ID?
The schools don't use them.tia Ron & BB

 

[Acklander]

No, kids don't need a photo ID to fly.

 

[Tippurr_2004]

When we flew down to WDW from Chicago last year with our 11 and 15 yo grandkids we were asked to present ID. I had anticipated this and took the 11 yo to the DMV and got a state ID made for him. The 15 yo used her school ID. This was for USA3000.

Tippurr

 

[ducklite]

The only time SW might want ID for a kid is if they are questioning the age of a lap baby. They might also ask a teen who looks over 18 for ID, but most teens 16 and up ahve some form of photo ID.

Anne

 

[Nikki_Mouse]

They did not ask for ID for my two kids- aged 4 and 6- but they did ask each child their name. "Are you Parker?" and my son 7 said "yes" then they asked my daughter 4 "Are you Payton?" and she said "NO!" I was awfully embarrased and hoped that the police would not be contacted! It is funny now- but not then. My children's school has a company come in and make id cards- they are Ident-A-Kids and they are great- contains all needed info and a thumb print on the back for $6.00 for one or $10 for four. Needless to say, we purchased one for my lovely daughter who "forgot" her name to take on our upcoming trip!

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

They did not ask for ID for my two kids- aged 4 and 6- but they did ask each child their name. "Are you Parker?" and my son 7 said "yes" then they asked my daughter 4 "Are you Payton?" and she said "NO!" I was awfully embarrased and hoped that the police would not be contacted! It is funny now- but not then. My children's school has a company come in and make id cards- they are Ident-A-Kids and they are great- contains all needed info and a thumb print on the back for $6.00 for one or $10 for four. Needless to say, we purchased one for my lovely daughter who "forgot" her name to take on our upcoming trip!

Do Payton and m son know each other? The last time we flew (not to WDW) DS7 decided he was tired of his name and he wanted to be "Dominic". I humored him and called him "Dominic" until we got to the airport where he proudly told TSA "I'm Dominic from Cleveland", neither of which is true. To make matters worse DS is adopted and looks nothing like me (different races). I was very glad that I carry his passport whenever we travel. I just handed it over and said, laughingly, "I can't believe he chose the airport to change his identity".

Note: The reason why I carry this passports is because a good friend of mine had an incident while traveling with her daughter, who was also adopted. The child threw a complete tantrum and a police officer stopped and escorted the mother and child back to the hotel room so that the mother could "prove" she wasn't kidnapping the child (who didn't look anything like mom). This happened to be in Canada so she was carrying identification for both of them, but it could just as easily been Orlando or another city in the U.S..

 

[munchkin bunchkin]

I guess it depends on the airline ,We flew on Allegiant Air in January and they wanted to see the kids Birth Certificates.

 

[PlutoPony]

How old were the kids?

 

[luvmesometigger]

My children's school has a company come in and make id cards- they are Ident-A-Kids and they are great- contains all needed info and a thumb print on the back for $6.00 for one or $10 for four. Needless to say, we purchased one for my lovely daughter who "forgot" her name to take on our upcoming trip!

We have Ident A Kid coming this Wed to my son's school...just in time for our trip!! I also have copies of their birth certificates. I paid for a seat for my DD however because I don't want to hold her for a 2 hour flight and she is safer in the car seat anyway. Hopefully she will sleep in it too since we have such an early flight!

Oh and my TA said that we needed the birth certificates for both of them.

 

[munchkin bunchkin]

How old were the kids?

My girls are 5(soon to be 6 )and 7. I figure it's better to have and not need then to need and : not have!!

 

[PlutoPony]

Ok, I'm not getting the reason people are being told to bring birth certificates for their children who are over 2.... Has something changed? The TSA website specifically says ADULT travelers over 18 must show valid govt. issued photo ID's - so the birth cert isn't needed to get thru security. And I can't believe that airlines are worried about ID'ing children unless they're under 2 and flying free. Can someone who's being told they NEED a birth cert please find out who's requiring it and WHY?!

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Ok, I'm not getting the reason people are being told to bring birth certificates for their children who are over 2.... Has something changed? The TSA website specifically says ADULT travelers over 18 must show valid govt. issued photo ID's - so the birth cert isn't needed to get thru security. And I can't believe that airlines are worried about ID'ing children unless they're under 2 and flying free. Can someone who's being told they NEED a birth cert please find out who's requiring it and WHY?!

Here's my guess -- there may be times when an airline needs to be able to I.D. a child for security reasons. For example, if the child is 17 but looks 25 (how do you know he's not 25 and passing himself off as a child to skip the screening), or when a child meets the description of a child who has been declared missing. To protect themselves, the airline tells all parents to bring the birth certificate even though there's little chance they'll even be asked to present it.

I've flown with DS when he was little without any form of I.D.. More recently, since he has a passport now, I bring it, but if I hand them the two passports they generally open mine first and then hand both back. It's rare for them to even glance at his unless it's the one on top and they look at it first.

If I couldn't obtain a birth certificate for my child in time to fly (this was true for us the first few times we flew) I'd take the chance on flying without it. However, if for some reason I was denied boarding I'd realize that I probably couldn't expect compensation, beyond the cost of the airline ticket.

 

[munchkin bunchkin]

Here's my guess -- there may be times when an airline needs to be able to I.D. a child for security reasons. For example, if the child is 17 but looks 25 (how do you know he's not 25 and passing himself off as a child to skip the screening), or when a child meets the description of a child who has been declared missing. To protect themselves, the airline tells all parents to bring the birth certificate even though there's little chance they'll even be asked to present it.

I've flown with DS when he was little without any form of I.D.. More recently, since he has a passport now, I bring it, but if I hand them the two passports they generally open mine first and then hand both back. It's rare for them to even glance at his unless it's the one on top and they look at it first.

If I couldn't obtain a birth certificate for my child in time to fly (this was true for us the first few times we flew) I'd take the chance on flying without it. However, if for some reason I was denied boarding I'd realize that I probably couldn't expect compensation, beyond the cost of the airline ticket.

The best I could find for a possible reason is on SW policy page.It states that proof of age maybe required if a child(AGE 2-11) is flying for a 'CHILD FARE"

 

[PlutoPony]

Here's my guess -- there may be times when an airline needs to be able to I.D. a child for security reasons. For example, if the child is 17 but looks 25 (how do you know he's not 25 and passing himself off as a child to skip the screening), or when a child meets the description of a child who has been declared missing. To protect themselves, the airline tells all parents to bring the birth certificate even though there's little chance they'll even be asked to present it.

But I don't think airlines DO tell parents to bring birth certificates....that's why I'm trying to figure out where this "requirement" to bring a birth cert is coming from. I just checked the websites of most of the major airlines and they all state that govt photo ID is required of adults 18 and over, and several airlines say explicitly that children traveling with their parents do NOT need id. I'm not trying to shoot the messanger here but trying to understand this. FWIW my son has flown regularly and has never been asked for any ID. We do ticket him as "master" so it's clear that he's a minor.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

But I don't think airlines DO tell parents to bring birth certificates....that's why I'm trying to figure out where this "requirement" to bring a birth cert is coming from. I just checked the websites of most of the major airlines and they all state that govt photo ID is required of adults 18 and over, and several airlines say explicitly that children traveling with their parents do NOT need id. I'm not trying to shoot the messanger here but trying to understand this. FWIW my son has flown regularly and has never been asked for any ID. We do ticket him as "master" so it's clear that he's a minor.

I know I was told by the airlines (Southwest) to bring ID when he was under 2 and flying in his own seat, paying full fare. I questioned this and they said it was to "document his age". I pointed out that since he was paying full fare his age was irrelevant, and they simply said it was policy. The reason I remember this is that at that point I didn't have access to his birth certificate. I ended up bringing his shot record which they didn't ask to see.

Since then I've always booked online, and since I knew that we both had passports I didn't pay much attention to the airline's policy re: ID.

I just called Airtran, however, to inquire about whether I'd get to sit with my 7 year old if we flew "non-reserved seating". They told me that after booking him a full fare ticket I needed to call the airline to alert them that he was a minor so that they wouldn't ask for ID. It would seem to me that the gate agent would simply look at his size and realize that he was a minor -- which is what always happens with SW, but maybe Airtran has a different policy?

 

[PlutoPony]

I just called Airtran, however, to inquire about whether I'd get to sit with my 7 year old if we flew "non-reserved seating". They told me that after booking him a full fare ticket I needed to call the airline to alert them that he was a minor so that they wouldn't ask for ID. It would seem to me that the gate agent would simply look at his size and realize that he was a minor -- which is what always happens with SW, but maybe Airtran has a different policy?

I can buy the concept that you need to indicate on a reservation that the flier is a minor (we do that by titling DS "master") which would equate to not needing an ID to fly domestically.

To the OP - at this point I still think you don't need ID for kids to fly unless they're on a child's fare of some kind (including flying free). So far I don't see any real evidence that this requirement has changed lately.... however, I would note in your reservation that a passenger is a minor to avoid potential problems.

Have a good trip!

 

[HeyItsDeb]

I didn't realize that I needed some ID for my DD since she is adopted also! Where I am blonde and fair, she is half hispanic and has brown skin, and dark brown hair. WOW! I'll make sure I take her Birth Cert just in case! Maybe I'll get a pic ID at the DMV though instead. I really wouldn't like to take her Birth Cert if I don't have to. I didn't know a kid could get an ID! She's only 10!

 

[munchkin bunchkin]

But I don't think airlines DO tell parents to bring birth certificates....that's why I'm trying to figure out where this "requirement" to bring a birth cert is coming from. I just checked the websites of most of the major airlines and they all state that govt photo ID is required of adults 18 and over, and several airlines say explicitly that children traveling with their parents do NOT need id. I'm not trying to shoot the messanger here but trying to understand this. FWIW my son has flown regularly and has never been asked for any ID. We do ticket him as "master" so it's clear that he's a minor.

The only thing I can tell you is that when we were at the check in counter for Allegiant Air WE WERE asked to show birth certs for the kids and I had no quams about showing them , it was no big deal to pull out a piece of paper and go on our way Sorry if thats difficult to understand.

 

[munchkin bunchkin]

But I don't think airlines DO tell parents to bring birth certificates....that's why I'm trying to figure out where this "requirement" to bring a birth cert is coming from. I just checked the websites of most of the major airlines and they all state that govt photo ID is required of adults 18 and over, and several airlines say explicitly that children traveling with their parents do NOT need id. I'm not trying to shoot the messanger here but trying to understand this. FWIW my son has flown regularly and has never been asked for any ID. We do ticket him as "master" so it's clear that he's a minor.

This came off of LOS ANGELES INT'L website :
What kind of ID is required for children?
You need to show a valid piece of ID that corresponds to the name on the ticket. Valid ID includes a photo ID and birth certificate or passport depending on your destination.

http://www.ifly.com/los-angeles-international-airport/airport-identification

 

[munchkin bunchkin]

I didn't realize that I needed some ID for my DD since she is adopted also! Where I am blonde and fair, she is half hispanic and has brown skin, and dark brown hair. WOW! I'll make sure I take her Birth Cert just in case! Maybe I'll get a pic ID at the DMV though instead. I really wouldn't like to take her Birth Cert if I don't have to. I didn't know a kid could get an ID! She's only 10!

I was reading your post and came across this site it may be of help . http://www.kidstravelcard.com/faq.htm#getcard