Sorry if my question is a little out of topic but why does the TSA cares about who you are? They know that you are not carrying anything dangerous so why does it matter if you have an id?

Some people aren't allowed to fly. That's one reason. Using a false name or flying under another names is suspicious and we don't really want people who are behaving dishonestly and suspiciously on a plane.

I lost my drivers license a while back and was able to fly from DEN to ORD without any hassle. Just had to go through a special security line where they more thoroughly examined my luggage. Took all of an extra 2 minutes. Assuming this is a domestic flight, this shouldn't be an issue.

Do you have any data to support your opinion?

Stolen wallet
 

If you do the TSA interview thing, it may help to have somebody send you a color photograph of your passport page in order to provide data that may expedite the process.

Thank you for all the replies
 

I just sent over a ton of stuff via PDF for him to print out and take to the airport as many of you have suggested. Appreciate the suggestions each of you offered.

Please let us know how it works out and which items helped (if he can tell). I usually carry photo-copies of my passport page and drivers license, so it would be helpful to know if it's worth it!

Most states have a procedure by which you can complete and fax in a form, after which they will fax you a photocopy of your DL and possibly a notice that you reported your DL as missing/stolen.

A photocopy of his birth certificate might help.

He should take the police report to show TSA. Sometimes they ask for it.

Sometimes they're satisfied with merely something with a photo on it, such as a Sam's or CostCo membership card. (Seems strange, but....)

My wife got through at SFO with her YMCA membership card a few years ago. She didn't mean to show it, but it was right next to her driver's license in her wallet and she pulled it out by mistake. Not a problem. They didn't even ask if she had anything more official. She realized what had happened when she went to put it back, but was savvy enough to figure out that at that point it was best not to rock the boat.

Of course, the only time this won't work is when it has to work.

TSA should need data to require additional revocation of civil rights, not the other way around. The no fly list is a joke that has harmed thousands of innocent citizens while not actually preventing terrorists like the Times Square bomber from boarding a plane.

I dropped my drivers license in the hotel room while we were leaving and didn't realize it until getting to the airport at SNA.

I was nervous and upset, but three TSA agents just asked me a lot of questions and were very helpful. One asked if I had my Costco card with my picture (I didn't). Then an agent asked if I had any medication vials showing my name. I showed them my vial for Crestor and they said everything was fine and I could proceed.

They didn't even open my luggage for an extra check or anything.

I think the location made a big difference though. I really doubt they would have been as nice or even let me board at LAX. I've always found the SNA TSA people to be very polite and friendly.

Does your wife look at all Asian?

Being denied travel is very uncommon for these kind of situations. I've seen foreign visitors repeatedly allowed to fly by the TSA when they were without passport or any other ID to hand over. Some miss their flights, but I've not seen any be denied travel. The delay being until the next day is possible, for example when a relevant FBI or other contact appears unavailable and there are no available flights soon after such contact is made.

It seems like your wife (and in turn you) got very, vey unlucky or didn't show up early enough to get cleared by the TSA.

1) TSA has never caught a terrorist with an ID check. Of course, they've never caught a terrorist by any other means, either, so maybe that's a bad example.

2) The Times Square bomber got on a plane, even with ID.

3) No ID of which I am aware has a line of text, symbol, or check box denoting "Do Not Fly List" or "Registered International Terrorist". Since the TDC does not check the name on the ID against lists of Bad People, there is no way that such an ID check will ever lead to the discovery of a Bad Person. Of course, not all Bad People are in the International Registry of Bad People Who Shouldn't Ever Fly But Are Not Wanted by the Police, so even if the TDC DID compare the ID to such a magic list, it still wouldn't catch Bad People who weren't on the List.

4) Given the frequency of underage drinkers and illegal aliens gaining access to fraudulent IDs, even a person who was #1 on the IRoBPWSEFBANWbtP could easily obtain a fake license from some college kids in Ohio or some back alley guys in Nogales, and get past the TDC without breaking a sweat. The TDC would probably like such a Bad Person, because the ludicrous nature of the ID check would put a big grin on the Bad Person's face, which the TDC would interpret as a friendly gesture. "What a nice man!" the TSO would think of the horrific international terrorist he had just allowed to pass into the sterile area.

6) The original intent of the TDC was merely to limit the number of people entering the airside areas to ticketed passengers only, not to make anything more secure, but to limit the number of people who had to be screened, because the lines at the c/p's were backing up after 9/11 and becoming untenable. Much like George Carlin's "Stuff" routine, however, the reduction of the line then allowed TSA to add more time-consuming procedures to the c/p, which then lengthened the lines even more than they had been prior to 9/11. When you get too much stuff, you get a bigger house. But then you have empty space, so you get more stuff to fill it, and then you have too much stuff and need a bigger house again...

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Do you have any data with supports the opposite opinion? The US government is infringing upon peoples' freedom of movement without due process. The onus is on them, and their supporters, to provide evidence that this infringement of civil liberties has a positive benefit - not a POTENTIAL or THEORETICAL benefit, but an actual, measurable benefit - in order to make such an infringement reasonable, and therefore Constitutional.

Such evidence of any such benefit has never been put forth. The best anyone has ever been able to manage in a public forum has been a statement (I think it was by Kip Hawley while he was head of TSA) that, "ID matters!" Said with such conviction and solemnity, it seems, that everyone in the US has swallowed that line of tripe with a smile and asked for more.

This thread is veering into territory that will get it moved to Safety/Security or perhaps OMNI/PR. The issue is how to fly when one has lost one's wallet. It might be a good idea to stay reasonably close to that topic. There are other parts of FT (see above) where the merits of TSA screening, etc., can be debated.

2-3 years ago at ABQ TSA accepted my Costco Amex card (the only thing I had with my picture on it) in lieu of drivers license that I thought I had lost on my trip. Pre-GE cards.

Today I keep a photocopy of my passport in each suitcase I use, and an encrypted GIF file of it on my cloud storage.