Precheck for teen

[EACarlson]

Out of curiosity, when was this? I had this experience trying to get my GE appointments in 2022 but, now that kids are free, I went ahead and applied for my girls just a couple weeks ago. Conditionally approved over a weekend with TONS of available appointments in the coming weeks. The whole passport debate aside, I'm wondering if my kids' GE experience was the anomaly or if things are moving smoother now in 2025...

My appointment was April of '24. My initial application was March of '23, it took 10 months to get the conditional approval and then I had to find an appointment. The nearest interview center to me is an hour and a half but I never saw an appointment there. The next two are three hours away, I would see appointments there but nothing I could make without some serious vehicle time or additional cost. Then I found a Monday appointment at the interview location 15 minutes from my mother's house. I took the kids and we went to go visit her for the weekend. I had my appointment Monday and then drove home.

 

[MommaKetch]

Get him a passport and then get him Global Entry instead, which also includes PreCheck.

This is what we did for my DS last year before he turned 13. He already had a passport, so adding on GE was fairly easy as we are close to 2 airports that provide appointments. I like the suggestion of a getting a state ID as well.

@TheOneWithTheTriplets we had an odd experience with approvals for GE. I applied for myself, DD9, and DS12 on the same day. His approval took a month longer than ours. No logical explanations were given. Just that some go into different queues and can take longer. Once approved we were able to get an appointment for final In-person review.

 

[sam_gordon]

The bad part about a passport for teens is that it may expire sooner than an adult one.

Just to clarify, if a passport is issued for someone younger than 16, it will expire in 5 years. Technically, it can't be renewed, and a new one will need to be applied for (if desired).

Those issued to people 16yo+ are good for 10 years and CAN be renewed.

 

[greeneyedchick]

I'm going to be getting precheck for my 16 year old soon because he's leaving for college in a few months and will be traveling without me. He has a passport and a learner's permit. We ended up getting him a passport a few years ago because he didn't have his learner's permit yet and needed ID to take the SATs and other College Board exams. The College Board did have a special form that you could get notarized if you were taking the test and didn't have ID but the local college gave him a hard time every time he tried to use that. I guess my point is that your child may need ID for other things besides travel, so it's worth getting an ID of some sort.

 

[PrincesCJM]

OP here

I live in Maine so, if I'm reading it correctly, it should cost $30. I never considered him having one in the event of an emergency but that is a fair point. We have no plans to travel internationally so I'd rather not get him a passport that will expire in 5 years. My husband and I got ours probably 8 years ago and have never used it. My husband will need his for flying in August as he does not have a REAL ID as of yet.

 

[leebee]

OP here

I live in Maine so, if I'm reading it correctly, it should cost $30. I never considered him having one in the event of an emergency but that is a fair point. We have no plans to travel internationally so I'd rather not get him a passport that will expire in 5 years. My husband and I got ours probably 8 years ago and have never used it. My husband will need his for flying in August as he does not have a REAL ID as of yet.

I've used my passport to get into Canada far more often than for traveling overseas. The Canadian border isn't too far from here; it we have a "driving day" in the summer or fall, we might cross into Canada, so want the passport. I don't have a REAL ID yet. My license needs to be renewed in 2026. I don't want to pay for REAL ID license now, then pay again to renew the license. I'll do it all next summer, and use my passport for flying until then.

 

[PrincesCJM]

I've used my passport to get into Canada far more often than for traveling overseas. The Canadian border isn't too far from here; it we have a "driving day" in the summer or fall, we might cross into Canada, so want the passport. I don't have a REAL ID yet. My license needs to be renewed in 2026. I don't want to pay for REAL ID license now, then pay again to renew the license. I'll do it all next summer, and use my passport for flying until then.

My husband's license was renewed in 2020, when all the DMV offices were closed to the public so getting a real ID wasn't an option. We also don't see a point in paying full price to get a real ID without it changing the expiration date, to then pay again a year or so down the road. (I ran into that when we got married in August and my license renewed June the following year). I'm in southern Maine and we've never been to Canada. It's on my list.

 

[Jimsig]

I don't have a REAL ID yet. My license needs to be renewed in 2026. I don't want to pay for REAL ID license now, then pay again to renew the license. I'll do it all next summer, and use my passport for flying until then.

My husband's license was renewed in 2020, when all the DMV offices were closed to the public so getting a real ID wasn't an option. We also don't see a point in paying full price to get a real ID without it changing the expiration date, to then pay again a year or so down the road. (I ran into that when we got married in August and my license renewed June the following year). I'm in southern Maine and we've never been to Canada. It's on my list.

Check with your state. Unless things have changed a lot of states allow you to renew your license early and not change the expiration date. Unless it has changed in MA you can renew your license up to 364 days early and it then expires 5 years from your next birthday. So if your birthday was yesterday but your license expires in 2026 you could renew today and it would not expire until March 25 2031.

 

[Dug720]

I've used my passport to get into Canada far more often than for traveling overseas. The Canadian border isn't too far from here; it we have a "driving day" in the summer or fall, we might cross into Canada, so want the passport. I don't have a REAL ID yet. My license needs to be renewed in 2026. I don't want to pay for REAL ID license now, then pay again to renew the license. I'll do it all next summer, and use my passport for flying until then.

My husband's license was renewed in 2020, when all the DMV offices were closed to the public so getting a real ID wasn't an option. We also don't see a point in paying full price to get a real ID without it changing the expiration date, to then pay again a year or so down the road. (I ran into that when we got married in August and my license renewed June the following year). I'm in southern Maine and we've never been to Canada. It's on my list.

I second the checking suggestion above. I live in NY and was able to upgrade my license keeping the same expiration date and it was only $12. I didn't have a choice to upgrade before renewing because the last renewal was during lockdown so it was just a by-mail renewal and would expire in 2028. But my passport expires in 2027. With my luck, it would take forever to renew the passport and something would happen requiring a flight between sending off the old one and getting the new one - so I was ok with paying whatever. I honestly didn't even know it was just an upgrade and not a full renewal with RealID going in. But it may well be possible to just upgrade for much less than a full-out renewal.