Originally Posted by
FlyHome2Iowa
You do NOT need a U.S. ID to board a domestic flight. You need to be able to establish your identity to make it through the TSA checkpoint. This can be done without photo identification by answering additional questions at the screening checkpoint.
From the TSA's own website:
http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/acceptable-ids
True, DHS/TSA does not require photo ID for domestic travel (solely inside USA and territories/possessions). TSA recommends that all travelers have photo ID to make the screening process more efficient, but if you show up and have lost your ID, the TSOs will work with you to confirm your identity. However,
air carriers can choose to require ID, and many/most of them do, whether for security, or revenue protection, or both. Any time I conduct any kind of transaction at an airline ticket counter (even just reprinting my boarding pass), the agent always wants to see my ID.
Now, in this day and age, it is easy to board domestic flights (and even most international flights) without ever interacting with an agent, thanks to web check-in and automated ticket kiosks. But I am sure the airlines' Conditions of Carriage say something about having to travel with ID in order to be accepted for travel. (Somebody else can look it up; I'm on my iPad...)