Easy child identification?
Jun 21, 2011 | 8:48 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 2
Easy child identification?
Hi All,
My first post and I hope I'm placing in the correct area. I will be flying with my kids for the first time in a couple months and have been wondering about identification needs. They are 6 and 8.
Is a Birth Certificate the only valid identification (and can it be a copy?) or are there "Identity Cards" I can get out there somewhere?
Thanks!
My first post and I hope I'm placing in the correct area. I will be flying with my kids for the first time in a couple months and have been wondering about identification needs. They are 6 and 8.
Is a Birth Certificate the only valid identification (and can it be a copy?) or are there "Identity Cards" I can get out there somewhere?
Thanks!
Jun 21, 2011 | 8:53 am
#2
In Memoriam
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Easton, CT, USA
Programs: ua prem exec, Former hilton diamond
Posts: 31,801
According to the tsa website, they don't need ID
and again here
Adult passengers (18 and over) are required to show a U.S. federal or state-issued photo ID in order to be allowed to go through the checkpoint and onto their flight.
We encourage each adult traveler to keep his/her airline boarding pass and government-issued photo ID available until exiting the security checkpoint (children are not required to show identification). The absence of proper identification will result in additional screening.
Jun 21, 2011 | 9:02 am
#3
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 44
My kids, even as very tall teenagers, had no trouble getting through security without ID. I recall one time my son was asked for ID and, when he answered that he was 16, they let him pass. But typically they weren't even asked.
I can't imagine your 6 and 8 year olds having any problems.
I can't imagine your 6 and 8 year olds having any problems.
Jun 21, 2011 | 9:08 am
#4
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Portland, OR
Programs: DL MM Gold
Posts: 1,687
You didn't mention international travel, where you would need a notarized letter from the non-traveling parent. But I'd Google for that phrase and bring that sort of document anyway. Shuts up the potentially curious TSA person from digging into your intentions where they have no business going anyway.
Jun 21, 2011 | 9:11 am
#5
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 959
My kids, even as very tall teenagers, had no trouble getting through security without ID. I recall one time my son was asked for ID and, when he answered that he was 16, they let him pass. But typically they weren't even asked.
I can't imagine your 6 and 8 year olds having any problems.
I can't imagine your 6 and 8 year olds having any problems.
Last edited by DeafBlonde; Jun 21, 2011 at 11:13 am
Jun 21, 2011 | 9:46 am
#6
In Memoriam
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Easton, CT, USA
Programs: ua prem exec, Former hilton diamond
Posts: 31,801
Jun 21, 2011 | 9:48 am
#7
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: PDX,PHX,LON
Programs: too many of the few that are left
Posts: 627
There is no good reason to travel with your kids' original documents, such as birth certificates or social security cards. Those should be kept in a safe place (secured fire safe, safe deposit box, etc.) unless you are actively using them for the purposes intended. Identity theft on children, who have "clean" credit and arrest records, can cause problems the rest of their lives.
Thanks!!!
Jun 21, 2011 | 11:05 am
#9
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: SEA
Posts: 90
I travel between the US/EU with any number of our kids and without
my spouse. When one gets a US* passport they require BOTH parents
in part for just this problem.
Last edited by AmyJo; Jun 21, 2011 at 11:08 am Reason: *forgot to add the US, doesn't apply for my kid's other passport
Jun 21, 2011 | 11:56 am
#10
In Memoriam
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Easton, CT, USA
Programs: ua prem exec, Former hilton diamond
Posts: 31,801
Are much better off having the documentation and not needing it
than
Needing the documentation and not having it.
Some countries care more about it than others because they have more issues with it and are havens for child abduction cases.
Jun 21, 2011 | 12:55 pm
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: BA/AA/AS/B6/WN/ UA/HH/MR and more like 'em but most felicitously & importantly MUCCI
Posts: 19,811
Once when we were both with our son (then two or three years old), sitting waiting for a US-bound ferry in Victoria, BC, we were approached by RCMP who questioned him very closely as to whether we were his real parents. Maybe he matched a current alert / profile, but it's obviously an issue from time to time.
Jun 21, 2011 | 1:13 pm
#12
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,972
How would a notarized letter prove that the person writing it is actually the other parent of the child? You'd at least need a birth certificate to do that and many don't have both parents on it (what about the case when it isn't known who's the parent?).
Jun 21, 2011 | 1:50 pm
#13
In Memoriam
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Easton, CT, USA
Programs: ua prem exec, Former hilton diamond
Posts: 31,801
In some cases both are needed. Mexico for example (from our State Department Page)
Mexican law requires that any non-Mexican citizen under the age of 18 departing Mexico must carry notarized written permission from any parent or guardian not traveling with the child to or from Mexico. This permission must include the name of the parent, the name of the child, the name of anyone traveling with the child, and the notarized signature(s) of the absent parent(s). The State Department recommends that the permission should include travel dates, destinations, airlines and a brief summary of the circumstances surrounding the travel. The child must be carrying the original letter not a facsimile or scanned copy as well as proof of the parent/child relationship (usually a birth certificate or court document) and an original custody decree, if applicable. Travelers should contact the Mexican Embassy or the nearest Mexican consulate for current information.
Jun 21, 2011 | 1:52 pm
#14
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,972
Jun 21, 2011 | 1:55 pm
#15
In Memoriam
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Easton, CT, USA
Programs: ua prem exec, Former hilton diamond
Posts: 31,801
The birth certificate would only have one name on it or would have unknown as the father's name.
If there was a father's name on the birth certificate, they would require the notarized letter from them if they were not present at the border.