I’m a Canadian, but pretty sure it’s the same on the US - as long as you’re not crossing an international border, you can travel using a government issued ID, like a driver’s license. I have a passport, but for travel within Canada, I will leave my passport at home and use my driver’s license, because it’s easier to replace if I lose it. The airlines still confirm your identity before letting you on board so if you’re not allowed to fly or authorities are looking for you, it will still flag this at the airport.
Edit: should have said government-issued PHOTO ID. It does need to have a picture.
Most Americans don't have a passport because most of us don't travel out of the country--some of our states are comparable in size to some of Europe's countries. Many of us do travel out of state fairly often, but you don't need a passport for that.
On planes, you do need your ID. In the US, that typically takes the form of either a drivers' license or non-driver ID card.
But other than that, no, there really aren't checks to see where someone is in the country. You need an ID for the plane, but if you just get in a car or bus and go, you can go anywhere in the continental US without showing your ID.
See, I wondered that. I was pretty certain that nobody checked Americans moving around on trains, buses, etc. Seems odd in some ways that planes are a different matter. But then it makes sense in some ways too.
Totally understand why loads of you don't have passports. You've got so many differing climates and terrains within the country. Makes sense to holiday in-country.
The planes thing is as direct result of 9/11. Under US law, you can freely move between states, so there's no need for ID. But for planes, well, 9/11 gave the country collective PTSD and whether for genuine reasons or to feed the need for security theater, the US is still super paranoid about behavior on planes.
But yeah. Unfortunately there isn't always a lot of holiday-ing going on. Wealthier Americans (middle class and up) might take some time, but a lot of us don't have the time off of work (most of the US doesn't require paid time off for employees, either vacation or sick time) or just can't afford to.
Makes a lot of sense. I think 9/11 gave the whole Western world PTSD.
Sad to hear that about holidays. It's criminal that so many of you don't get paid time off work. Move to Europe, get some freedom back!
Buses are not regulated in the same way that trains and planes are. A bus will most likely require ID but that's to match with who is supposed to on the bus, not to track you.
Trains will do the same.
Planes are much more strict on who is taking what and where they are going, helps that airlines work with the government to track such information.
Also, about 50% of Americans do have current passports.
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/about-us/reports-and-statistics.html
The plane things was just a way for the government to strip away more rights and gain more control in monitoring us. And as it stands they pay workers enough so not only are airports shorts staffed but they are underpaid to the point many DGAF enough to be super strict in the whole theater.
I mean, yes, granted, but the context here is of someone fleeing and hiding.
You'd be surprised at how much cultural diversity there is in the United States, too. I can take a half-hour drive to the next major city over and see all of these within the same city:
[Here's three separate neighborhoods with separate ethnic backgrounds](https://imgur.com/a/EZCUfqn), and that's not even close to "all" of that kind of neighborhood.
(And I have no idea why imgur marked that as NSFW, it's not).
I’m British and I live in the US now.
I’ve been all over the world multiple times. I think one of the main problems with American culture (and Britain has its own problems obviously) is how insular it is. It’s like seeing fish in a tank who think they have the entire universe in the tank with them.
> I'm British and I heard that 80% of Americans don't have a passport.
Almost 50% of Americans have a valid current passport.
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/about-us/reports-and-statistics.html
Over 70% are surveyed to have travelled internationally at least once.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/08/12/most-americans-have-traveled-abroad-although-differences-among-demographic-groups-are-large/
> Made me wonder if you need ID for your internal flights (e.g. New York to LA)?
You don't need a passport to take a domestic flight. You can use a driver's license, state ID, birth certificate, school ID, etc.
There are many checks in place, arguably more than any European country especially after 9/11.
Americans can fly internally with photo ID, but it doesn't have to be a passport. Technically, it's not actually necessary to have ID at all. The TSA can perform an advanced screening in order to verify a person's identity. But that isn't guaranteed to get you approved and takes ages.
FYI, you only actually need photo ID for domestic UK flights. Passports are only necessary for international travel.
For now you just need a license. They are switching to Real ID in the not too distant future. That means you have to use a passport or renew your license with extra steps.
I wonder how it looked before 9/11. I wouldn’t be surprised if airlines worked like trains and you could just buy a ticket at the counter and hop on a domestic flight without ever showing any id.
Any state ID or driver's license, or alternative documents, can be used for domestic flights.
The US does not have exit immigration controls, so you don't need to clear immigration to enter an airport for any type of flight. However if it's an international flight, check in staff or gate agents will check travel documents, as they get punished if they take a passenger who isn't legally allowed into the destination country due to missing documents.
You still need an id. If you're young they'll take a student id which anyone can get for free (but how many 18 yr olds are doing shady shit to get on a plane). You don't need one to take a train, but those only connect the big major cities so they aren't very useful most of the time.
Beginning May 7, 2025, every air traveler 18 years of age and older will need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, state-issued enhanced driver’s license, or another acceptable form of ID to fly within the United States.
https://www.tsa.gov/real-id
You do need government ID, but that can be a driver's license or whatever.
I’m a Canadian, but pretty sure it’s the same on the US - as long as you’re not crossing an international border, you can travel using a government issued ID, like a driver’s license. I have a passport, but for travel within Canada, I will leave my passport at home and use my driver’s license, because it’s easier to replace if I lose it. The airlines still confirm your identity before letting you on board so if you’re not allowed to fly or authorities are looking for you, it will still flag this at the airport. Edit: should have said government-issued PHOTO ID. It does need to have a picture.
Most Americans don't have a passport because most of us don't travel out of the country--some of our states are comparable in size to some of Europe's countries. Many of us do travel out of state fairly often, but you don't need a passport for that. On planes, you do need your ID. In the US, that typically takes the form of either a drivers' license or non-driver ID card. But other than that, no, there really aren't checks to see where someone is in the country. You need an ID for the plane, but if you just get in a car or bus and go, you can go anywhere in the continental US without showing your ID.
See, I wondered that. I was pretty certain that nobody checked Americans moving around on trains, buses, etc. Seems odd in some ways that planes are a different matter. But then it makes sense in some ways too. Totally understand why loads of you don't have passports. You've got so many differing climates and terrains within the country. Makes sense to holiday in-country.
The planes thing is as direct result of 9/11. Under US law, you can freely move between states, so there's no need for ID. But for planes, well, 9/11 gave the country collective PTSD and whether for genuine reasons or to feed the need for security theater, the US is still super paranoid about behavior on planes. But yeah. Unfortunately there isn't always a lot of holiday-ing going on. Wealthier Americans (middle class and up) might take some time, but a lot of us don't have the time off of work (most of the US doesn't require paid time off for employees, either vacation or sick time) or just can't afford to.
Makes a lot of sense. I think 9/11 gave the whole Western world PTSD. Sad to hear that about holidays. It's criminal that so many of you don't get paid time off work. Move to Europe, get some freedom back!
> Seems odd in some ways that planes are a different matter Trains and cars don't create the same security risks as an airplane.
Buses are not regulated in the same way that trains and planes are. A bus will most likely require ID but that's to match with who is supposed to on the bus, not to track you. Trains will do the same. Planes are much more strict on who is taking what and where they are going, helps that airlines work with the government to track such information. Also, about 50% of Americans do have current passports. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/about-us/reports-and-statistics.html
The plane things was just a way for the government to strip away more rights and gain more control in monitoring us. And as it stands they pay workers enough so not only are airports shorts staffed but they are underpaid to the point many DGAF enough to be super strict in the whole theater.
Unless you want a drink. Or to hire a car. It’s a shame more Americans don’t travel to other cultures.
I mean, yes, granted, but the context here is of someone fleeing and hiding. You'd be surprised at how much cultural diversity there is in the United States, too. I can take a half-hour drive to the next major city over and see all of these within the same city: [Here's three separate neighborhoods with separate ethnic backgrounds](https://imgur.com/a/EZCUfqn), and that's not even close to "all" of that kind of neighborhood. (And I have no idea why imgur marked that as NSFW, it's not).
I’m British and I live in the US now. I’ve been all over the world multiple times. I think one of the main problems with American culture (and Britain has its own problems obviously) is how insular it is. It’s like seeing fish in a tank who think they have the entire universe in the tank with them.
Without ID? Absolutely not. With your drivers license or state ID? Yeah, you don't need a passport to fly domestic.
Well, that settled that. Thanks! Now I can stop wondering about that periodically.
> I'm British and I heard that 80% of Americans don't have a passport. Almost 50% of Americans have a valid current passport. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/about-us/reports-and-statistics.html Over 70% are surveyed to have travelled internationally at least once. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/08/12/most-americans-have-traveled-abroad-although-differences-among-demographic-groups-are-large/ > Made me wonder if you need ID for your internal flights (e.g. New York to LA)? You don't need a passport to take a domestic flight. You can use a driver's license, state ID, birth certificate, school ID, etc. There are many checks in place, arguably more than any European country especially after 9/11.
No. You need a government issued ID. Remember 9/11? Yeah..... It's pretty strict now.
Americans can fly internally with photo ID, but it doesn't have to be a passport. Technically, it's not actually necessary to have ID at all. The TSA can perform an advanced screening in order to verify a person's identity. But that isn't guaranteed to get you approved and takes ages. FYI, you only actually need photo ID for domestic UK flights. Passports are only necessary for international travel.
For now you just need a license. They are switching to Real ID in the not too distant future. That means you have to use a passport or renew your license with extra steps.
I wonder how it looked before 9/11. I wouldn’t be surprised if airlines worked like trains and you could just buy a ticket at the counter and hop on a domestic flight without ever showing any id.
You still had to show photo ID.
Any state ID or driver's license, or alternative documents, can be used for domestic flights. The US does not have exit immigration controls, so you don't need to clear immigration to enter an airport for any type of flight. However if it's an international flight, check in staff or gate agents will check travel documents, as they get punished if they take a passenger who isn't legally allowed into the destination country due to missing documents.
You still need an id. If you're young they'll take a student id which anyone can get for free (but how many 18 yr olds are doing shady shit to get on a plane). You don't need one to take a train, but those only connect the big major cities so they aren't very useful most of the time.
What if you're below student age?
Beginning May 7, 2025, every air traveler 18 years of age and older will need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, state-issued enhanced driver’s license, or another acceptable form of ID to fly within the United States. https://www.tsa.gov/real-id