REAL ID or passport: can you fly?

To fly, you need a REAL ID (the star on your California license or ID) or another TSA-accepted ID like a passport. TSA has enforced this since May 7, 2025. No REAL ID? Since February 1, 2026 you can pay $45 for TSA ConfirmID instead.

Thanksgiving is 51 days out. A routine passport takes 4 to 6 weeks plus mail, so the window for that trip is closing; the State Department says October to December is its least busy stretch.

1. Use the DMV's REAL ID document checklist.
2. Apply online and upload proof of identity (like a passport or birth certificate) and residency (like a utility bill or bank statement).
3. Take the originals and your confirmation code to a DMV office; check wait times first.

DMV REAL ID

• How long: routine 4 to 6 weeks, expedited 2 to 3 weeks for $60 more. Mailing isn't included and can add up to two weeks each way.
• Renew online at opr.travel.state.gov if you're 25 or older, aren't changing your name, have your undamaged passport, it was a 10-year passport that expires within a year or expired less than 5 years ago, and you aren't traveling for 6 weeks (online renewals can't be expedited).
• First passport or a child's: apply in person at an acceptance facility, often a post office, by appointment. Find one: State Department locator · USPS passport appointments.

Solana Beach to the airport · Coaster fares. Stuck on the DMV upload or the online renewal? Text PJ.

Sources: TSA, About TSA ConfirmID and the $45 fee announcement · California DMV · U.S. State Department, processing times and online renewal. Checked October 6, 2026.

Need a human?

This page is built every morning from public data by SideGuy, run by PJ, a local in Solana Beach. If something looks off, or you want a hand with your plans, text PJ at 858-461-8054. A real person answers.

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