Q. Help! I l flew to visit family yesterday and seemed to have misplaced my license somewhere along the way. I tried calling the airport lost and found, but  it looks like I may have really lost it forever. So here I am, stranded, with no license. Do I stand a chance of clearing security on the way home without it?

A. D'oh, sorry to hear! If you happen to have any other forms of ID handy, of course that will help. If not, the TSA does accept other forms of identification, such as:

  • Driver's licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent)
  • U.S. passport
  • U.S. passport card
  • DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
  • U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
  • Permanent resident card
  • Border crossing card
  • DHS-designated enhanced driver's license
  • Federally recognized, tribal-issued photo ID
  • HSPD-12 PIV card
  • Foreign government-issued passport
  • Canadian provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
  • Transportation worker identification credential
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
  • U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential

Says the TSA, "If passengers are willing to provide additional information, we have other means of substantiating someone’s identity, like using publicly available databases." You can peruse the TSA's Identity Matters page for more info. All hope is not lost!

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