They believe they are doing you a favor. In some states, they do not bother to send you a notice that your license is about to expire, until such time as they kind of sort of randomly decide you're OK to get your license renewed through the mail. This has caused me for instance not to notice that my license has expired. Who remembers something that only happens once every four years? If someone looking at my license doesn't say anything about my license being expired, I could have a problem. I'd rather that person be a bartender or the TSA officer, than a police officer at a traffic stop. Give me a chance to fix it before it becomes an issue.
The TSA officer may or may not care that it is expired. I would go early in case you got one who did care, so that you will have time to go jump through the hoops. Bring a book to read so if you don't need to hoop jump, well, the extra time is not wasted, you can get caught up on your reading. That's what I would do if I could not find my ID/had expired ID. People get their ID lost/stolen in their travels all the time, and yet they are allowed to fly and not left stranded forever, so try not to stress it too much. Just leave that extra time.
Originally Posted by
amlothi
Why do they even look at the expiration date?
I have resisted the urge to respond rudely, because maybe (just maybe) they think they are doing me a favor.