CHL license and TSA

[Tim the Teacher]

The wife went to Florida last month and she discovered that when going through the screening process her Texas DL and expired. So she shows them her military ID (I'm retired) and that had recently expired. The only thing she has left in her purse that is governmnet issued is her CHL permit so she shows that and the screener says that is not valid. I said let me speak to a supervisor who came over and was told of the circumstance. They said the expired DL was okay but they would have to search her. On the way back from Tampa the TSA over there said her Texas CHL was a valid government ID and no problems were encountered.

Fast forward to this morning where she once again is at the airport on a business trip. She has a temporary Texas DL with no picture. They said it was okay and sent her through. She offered no picture ID this time. What is wrong with those screeners???? To obtain a CHL you have to have a thorough background check. To get a temporary DL you show up, show a social security card for ID (which could be fake), pay your money and get the paper which TSA recognizes.

Raise your hand if you think we still have a security problem at our airports.......

[seamusTX]

Given the number of people who have gotten weapons through screening plus the occasional live monkey, I'm sure our safety is in good hands.

Everybody needs to get a passport. You will soon need one for any foreign travel, including cruises. They're good for 12 years and not linked to your address.

- Jim

[jimlongley]

Except for some small airports the people who check id in the line for the security screening are NOT TSA. The people who work those points are usually not anywhere near as well trained as TSA, but they have specific guidelines that they have to follow, just like anyone else, and their guidelines say that only certain things are valid picture IDs, DLs, Passports, and a couple of other things, but a Texas CHL is not considered to be an ID, even if it should be.

Plus, a person presenting two forms of picture ID, both expired, raises a red flag. The reason expired IDs are not accepted is that we are not required to turn those in, so it's entirely possible, even if not probable, that someone could have acquired those expired IDs while the person who they were issued to has already got the "real" ones.

When I lived in Illionois I flew to Barbados to teach a class, having no passport I was asked to present my birth certificate and two forms of picture ID. I presented my DL and my Firearms Owners ID (FOID) and the unknowing person checking my ID then asked me if I would be carrying a firearm on the flight - the IL FOID has been changed since then, but back then it said "ILLINOIS STATE POLICE" in bold letters across the top, so the young lady in question simply assumed that I was a LEO and would be carrying on the flight (remember this was to a foreign country).

Of course this was pre-9/11, but I had a couple of similar experiences after that time.

And I spent over three years with TSA, answering those questions and others like them on an hourly basis.

[KBCraig]

Or instead of worrying about the ID being expired, you can just say "I don't have any", and be processed SSS. Some people have taken to doing this even when they have valid ID, just because it's faster.

[yerasimos]

Everybody needs to get a passport. You will soon need one for any foreign travel, including cruises. They're good for 12 years and not linked to your address.

Well said. The passport is a document that TSA and immigration personnel are familiar with, and it will not arouse unwanted interest as can the CHL. And assuming you carry it seperate from your wallet, you will not be completely wiped out with regards to documentation if you lose one or the other (but not both). And better to have it now, ready and within reach if you need it in a hurry later, rather than having to hustle to get one in a time crunch.

Get a passport!

[locknload]

The wife went to Florida last month and she discovered that when going through the screening process her Texas DL and expired. So she shows them her military ID (I'm retired) and that had recently expired. The only thing she has left in her purse that is governmnet issued is her CHL permit so she shows that and the screener says that is not valid. I said let me speak to a supervisor who came over and was told of the circumstance. They said the expired DL was okay but they would have to search her. On the way back from Tampa the TSA over there said her Texas CHL was a valid government ID and no problems were encountered.

Fast forward to this morning where she once again is at the airport on a business trip. She has a temporary Texas DL with no picture. They said it was okay and sent her through. She offered no picture ID this time. What is wrong with those screeners???? To obtain a CHL you have to have a thorough background check. To get a temporary DL you show up, show a social security card for ID (which could be fake), pay your money and get the paper which TSA recognizes.

Raise your hand if you think we still have a security problem at our airports.......

Security problems at our airports is not our only problem!

SS cards can not only be fake, but real ones can be illegally gotten. I used to work at the Food Pantry of our church in NW part of Houston. We had many people come in for food and clothing, who were illegal and proud to tell us how they obtained "documentation," illegally! They went to the kiosks that pop up on weekends in front of the local Fiesta market or go to the flea market, because the cops didn't work on weekends ... especially Sundays. There, they find vendors, who will make them a Birth Certificate for $15, which looks like the real deal, and has them born in a hospital or location, where the County Seat, Court House or Hospital has burned down and left no verifiable records. Since the New Orleans flood, most have been "born" there. These folks were able to pick whatever name or birth date that appealed to them. Some had several "Birth Certificates" with different identities. With these newly minted identities, they would go to the Social Security Office and get a real SS card. With those two documents, they could get a real Driver's License and register to vote. They were defacto, US citizens, without having to wait for citizenship!

When stopped by the cops, however, they were illegal, because they knew that they wouldn't have to show up in court or get prosecuted, if they had no documentation. If they don't show up, they just get away with whatever it is that they do. And these folks were proud of this deception!

[iflyabeech]

The FAA won't accept a CHL as a second form of ID.
I tried to use it to renew my flight instructor certificate and at a class at FAA HQ. Both times they said not a valid id, but accepted a credit card as secondary id!