Does Southwest require passport for domestic travel?
 

I'm about to book a domestic flight on Southwest and remembered my passport is expired. Is a passport required for domestic travel? Or can I use my driver's license?

You can use your driver's license, as most people do. Passport is never required to move among the 50 states or US possessions. It's for entering other countries only.

Perfect! Thanks for confirming!

Here is a list of the forms of ID accepted by TSA. Even if you don't have any of those, there may still be a way through the checkpoint. Unless you are checking luggage, you may never need to show any ID to WN or any carrier for a domestic flight.

http://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-s...identification

Just be prepared for it taking MUCH longer getting though security without an ID.

Besides, the OP said he HAS a DL. So, there is no issue.

If OP is flying to/from New Mexico, a passport is needed just in case an airline agent doesn't know than NM is one of the fifty states. District of Columbia is similarly risky, because some people think it's a region of South America.

In all seriousness OP, you'll be fine with a drivers license. But...

Ha, it would be even funnier if you were just joking. I'd also add that if you are from Hawaii, you may need a passport since TSA may decide not recognize it as a state.

For reference:
D.C. resident: TSA agent questioned if license from nation’s capital was valid for flight | Washington Post

Reporter Baffled After TSA Agent Rejects His District Of Columbia ID, Demands To See Passport | Huffington Post

TSA Agent Tries to Not Recognize NM Driver'se License as ID | FlyerTalk

Hawaii is not a state according to the TSA agent | FlyerTalk

And this is not specific to Southwest! It applies to every airline. If flying any airline totally within the US and/or its territories (for example, Puerto Rico), you do not require a passport.

Whether you require a passport has to do with whether you're leaving or entering the country. It has nothing to do with what airline you're flying.

Note that the list at the link says "U.S. passport." It does not say "valid U.S. passport" or "unexpired U.S. passport." The people who write these rules are very careful about precise phrasing. If they meant that it had to be unexpired, they would have said so. An expired passport is not valid for international travel, but in at least one situation I'm familiar with it was accepted for identification. (It was recent enough that the photo still looked like the bearer.)

So, your expired passport - which is still a U.S. passport by any definition - is probably still fine for this purpose.

As I believe is noted above, you may be permitted to travel without any acceptable ID do long as a TSA Officer can otherwise verify your identity. This may sometimes be done with multiple expired documents, school ID's, and other information which can be verified in various commercial and government databases.

This is all, however, ill-advised and most useful in an emergency where one has lost one's ID.

If OP's question is reasonably interpreted as asking whether he requires a valid passport for domestic travel, the answer is no. If he wants to know what will work, a valid DL is the simple answer.

Thanks guys for the answers, I think I'll be fine with a driver's license. I'm traveling from BOS to SFO.

It's the "probably" that would have me worried.

No 'think' about it. You will absolutely be fine with your DL.
Have a good flight!

Awesome! I'm glad to hear.

No need to say "I think" here. I never carry a passport on domestic trips. My driver's license is always sufficient, including this specific route many times.

(My wife was once cleared in the reverse direction, at SFO heading for BOS, using her YMCA membership card. She pulled it out by mistake, as it was next to her DL, and didn't realize it until she was putting it back into her wallet. We have no idea if the agent knew what it was and figured it was good enough, or just didn't notice.)