Travel Tales: My TSA Adventure Without a Driver’s License
There are two types of people in this world: those who pack days before their flight with all their outfits planned for each day and coordinating activities, and those who pack 30 minutes before they leave for the airport.
I like to think that I am a pretty methodical packer. I’ve reached the point where I don’t need to make a list of every item I need to pack… or so I thought.
This was my worst packing job ever, and I didn’t realize it until I was at the airport. There are a couple of essential items you simply cannot forget to pack, and at the top of that list is typically a driver’s license.
I was looking at the TSA agent, ready to impress them with my super quick TSA skills, when I looked down and realized my driver’s license was nowhere to be found. I didn’t get to the airport with enough time to run home and try to find it, plus I had my wallet in my hand, so where on earth was my driver’s license anyway?
So please learn from my mistakes. Here’s how to get through security when you’ve lost your driver’s license:
We flew from Denver to Portland. In Denver, they accepted my airport badge, that I use to go to work at this very airport everyday. It is government-issued and a photo ID, but most people don’t work at the airport. So there’s not really a lesson to be learned from this interaction.
In Portland, we arrived as early as possible, knowing it would be harder in an airport I don’t work at every day. The TSA agent was kind but assured me that this would be a very long and painful process and had Daniel go ahead without me. In all honesty, I think that was a bit dramatic.
First, TSA needs to verify your ID. I gave them everything I had (except my driver’s license for obvious reasons). I had my Denver Airport ID, credit cards, insurance cards, and my taco membership fire-tier information. I showed them everything I had and they took two credit cards and called it good.
After TSA verifies your identity, you have to complete a secondary screening, which is a scary-sounding term for going through TSA normally (not the PreCheck way) and having all of your bags checked twice. If you have ever gone through security with liquids by mistake or baby formula, it’s like that. They check all your bags twice with the little swab thing.
If you’re still here and want one more laugh. Most people overpack, and specifically overpack underwear. NOT ME (apparently) I didn’t pack any underwear. So grocery store granny undies for me all week. Yay.