Need ID to Fly with a Baby?

We flew back in 2008 and they never asked for i.d. for my kids. I had it in case, but they never asked. My kids were 8 mos. and 7 at the time.

I live in CA and have flown with my son a ton. Don't need ID. Just tell the airline ahead of time that you're flying with a child.

I've flown several times recently. With my older son they didn't need anything. With the baby they said they needed his birth certificate just to verify he was young enough to be a lap child, but once they saw how tiny he was they didn't need it (SWA didn't anyway). When I asked what to bring for ID they said you could bring a letter from the hospital (can't remember what that's called, but it's on the letterhead) if you don't have a birth cert or passport yet. And had no trouble with milk either- even with my 2 year old who really doesn't require it.

No ID needed for a 6 month old. They are pretty lax on milk. Are you bringing breastmilk with you, or nursing? Nursing might be easier on you, if you are using breastmilk. If you are bringing milk, or formula and water (yes, you can bring the water for the formula), bring more that you think you need, it will be okay. Just declare (put it in a separate tray, and they may do a test on it) it, and they usually just go about their tests, and that is it. I travel for work and pump, so I have brought back BAGS of milk with no baby, and no issues there. If you have any questions about nursing while flying, let me know, as it would really be much easier on both of you

Also, at security, have the baby in a front pack (Ergo, bjorn), and the carseat separate. You don't have to take the baby off of you, and the carseat can go right through, then pull out the milk, and other liquids, take off your shoes, and you are good to go.

A lot is going to depend on the airport, sorry to say.

We've traveled with both of our kids as babies. Some airports have more strict security than others, and we're fortunate (?) to live near one of the less-strict ones. We traveled with a copy of the birth certificate for both of them; once we were told we didn't need ID, once we were told we did. Maybe you could get a copy of the footprints from the hospital?

Reasonable milk - for us, anyway, is a little cooler bag full. The milk should be in a seperate carry-on, or take the cooler out of your carry-on. Tell them when they're checking your ticket that you are traveling with milk. They will probably let you carry it through the detector with you, rather than having it x-rayed. (They did for us, but that was last year, so I don't know what rules have changed.) You'll go through the detector, and then they will search the bag to make sure only milk and a cold pack are in it. They'll swipe it with litmus paper to make sure it's not secreting anything weird, and there you go.

I don't know about the ID, but I have a friend that just flew with a 6w old. I can ask her if you'd like. I don't think she had an id for him.

Reasonable amounts of milk means like 4 ready-made cans. Place them in a large plastic container and place it at the top of the diaper bag. Also, any medicines you are taking need to be in a clear plastic bag. Those two bags will need to be removed at security, but otherwise, you should be able to send the whole diaper bag through the scanner.

Check as much baggage as possible, ie, your stuff and hubby's.

Some airports have a special area for families / children. The may also just ask you to step to the side and search your stuff with a wand. Just be patient and calm and allow extra time for it.

If you don't have the birth certificate, bring the yellow immunization card. We have been asked several times (though one time I didn't have it and they let it go). Our children are adopted and before we had our final birth certificate we once had to show the immunization card along with our adoption paperwork since the name didn't match yet. Better safe than sorry!

We have been asked when our oldest was a newborn and when both kids were older on a number of airlines.

I've never needed ID for any of my kids (oldest is 5). Last time I flew was a month and a half ago and no ID needed for my 1 year old.

Bring enogh formula/milk for half a day - you never know if a flight will be delayed or canceled. If you use formula, just bring the powder, so no big deal on the liquid.

No ID is required. You will need an infant boarding pass to get through security and they will print one at the ticket counter for you. It does not have the baby's name. Your name and it will say infant at the top.
I work for United Airlines and we do not require a note from anyone. If a child
is traveling alone, there is paper work to be filled out, maybe this is what the other Mom was talking about, BUT this does not pertain to you.
If you need more info from the TSA about traveling, check their web site.
www,tsa.gov .. have fun

I don't know about ID because I don't fly but when I travel I take a copy of birth certificates, shot records, list of medicines and times given taped inside my wallet and diaper bag and I also include a list of allergies on there,

We fly A LOT! For a lap child (under age 2), you need some sort of paperwork, letter from hospital, shot records, etc. After 2, no paperwork needed for domestic travel. If you bought a seat, I don't think you will need any paperwork, but would bring it just in case.

As for carrying you baby in a sling or bjorn type carrier, as of October, you now have to take them out of it to go through security and put the carrier/sling through the x-ray.

I think the other posters below have mostly agreed that you should not need ID, except for passport on international flights. We have flown many times with our now 3 yr old and have only been asked for his passport when flying to the UK a month ago.

As for milk, water, drinks, etc., we bring a lot of fluids, squeeze pouch foods (yogurts, fruit/veggie mixes). Just put them all in one or more gallon-size zip bags so that are easy to pull out all together and put into one of the bins separately. When TSA sees that you're traveling with a child, they will understand. Granted, they might still want to check the contents (with their paper testers or whatnot). We've been stranded at an airport for 7 hours before -- would not have been pleasant without sufficient food/drinks for our son.

I brought the yellow immunization card for my baby. They didn't even check it, but it was there just in case. Security is going to be much tighter over the holidays so I would strongly suggest bringing something. It is better to be prepared.

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We have never needed ID for our kids when traveling but you never know. Bring the hospital certufucate in case unless you get the real one. They will test your milk with test strips. eat a simple diet for a few days before so there is not a weird reaction. and follow that milk! my 2 year old had a sippy of milk and they took it in a room to test it without us. Ummm no. We dumped it and bought her more at the coffee shop. But breast milk is white gold so I would be more protective. good luck

It dependson the airline. United requires ID and a note (if you're flying alone) from the father granting permission for him to fly with you. That's their "rule", whether they enforce it or not, I'm not sure.
Delta, there is no rule and he can travel with you without any documentation.

Not sure about other airlines.

Safest bet is to have a copy of his passport or birth certificate with you, just in case.

I'm in Socal. I don't know about babies but my 4 year old is flying up north this Friday, and she needs her certificate.

I have a 7 year old and she has been traveling on a plane since she was 2 months old about 2 to 4 times a year. For traveling nationally we were never asked for any form of id or birth certificate for her. Once we started traveling internationally, she was required to have a passport (she was 2 years old at the time). I would not worry about not having the birth certificate. The only time they may require a letter from you is if you are traveling out of the country without her father. And also from experience when I did this I contacted the airline and they said they did not require it. So it depends where you are flying and what airline. It is a good idea to contact them directly if you have any doubts. Hope this helps.
Not sure about the milk... I breastfed my baby and it saved me carrying ANY bottles.

Feel free to contact me if I can help with any of my experiences.

Ok, I don't know about the ID thing as I just travel with a copy of my son's birth certificate. I would go online with TSA and see what else is acceptable and make sure you have that.

As far as milk, if it is a cross country flight you'll probably have 3 bottles worth, just in case. Breast feeding is the easiest but if you are using powdered formula it's easy also as you can use the 'bottled or canned' water on the flight with the formula. Liquid formula, I would just make 3 bottles for on the flight and at the TSA checkpoint they will make you open them and they with use their 'sniffer' machine to make sure the contents and then you are on your way. It is really no big deal at all! Your time at the security line will be shorter than you think. You can do it and you sound like you are preparing well. That is what will make the stress disappear. Good luck!

We've travelled all over the place since our almost 16 yr old daughter was a couple months old. We've never been asked for her ID.

This past March, she did show her new driver permit but she was not asked for it....she did it because she wanted some cute guy to think she was older than she is, LOL.

You'll be fine!! Enjoy your holiday and don't worry about all this trivial stuff.

Get a b.c. rushed, just in case. They've never asked to see our son's but better safe than sorry. and I would think a "reasonable" amount of milk is enough to make it through the trip!

I've flown numerous times with my 2 children since my son (he's 3 now, my daughter's 7 mos. and on her 3rd flight already) was 5 mos old and every single time, I was asked for some sort of ID (international) or birth certificate (domestic). Once, I forgot and the Southwest agent thought to get my husband to fax the birth certificate to the airport office's fax machine. So, the airline agent may not ask for it, but then again, they might.
Also, I've never had a problem bringing any amount of milk, formula, medications, food for my children. I just declare it to TSA, sometimes they look at it, once they asked me to open an unsealed bottle to test it, sometimes they haven't even looked.
As far as your child's birth certificate, if you haven't gotten it yet, then there probably was a problem, like the application got lost by the hospital, mail, or otherwise. You should be able to contact LA County (http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/dca/dcabirth.htm) and order it by mail or in person. If in Long Beach or Pasadena, they have their own offices. You should get it in about a week.
Allow plenty of time to get through LA traffic and the airport chaos. The carseat will get through the metal detectors best if you put it in upside down. Remember to take your baby's shoes off. Bring twice as many diapers as you'll need for the day in your carry on. I put everything in ziploc bags in my carry on. The airline drinking cups will entertain your baby for hours. Try to be rested. Good luck. Have a wonderful Christmas with your family!

I have yet to do airline travel with my 17th month old, but we are doing it for the first time in a week for Thanksigiving. When I booked our travel (I actually did it through a "real" person" and not online) she told me that our son wouldn't need ID when traveling. Now, I'm not sure but I think this would be across the board and not just our airline (Frontier). I double checked with mamas I work with and they all said they didn't need ID for their little ones until age 2. Good luck to us both!

The last time I flew with my son (over 4 years ago) I had to bring his birth cert with me. One leg they checked it, one leg they didn't even ask to see it because it was obvious he was under 2 and would fly free.

I would call the airline back and ask them what they require for you to board *their* flight. With Southwest, I had to add +infant on to my name when I bought the tix on line so when we went thru security it was already there that I would have an infant with me.

The TSA website should spell out exact amounts of milk that you can bring with you.

You will need to bring his birth certificate. Since you bought him a seat they may not ask for it, but definitely bring it.
Go to the county clerks office and ask for a copy of the birth certificate. They should be able to print you one right there. They usually cost $10-$20.

I have traveled A LOT with both my kids and have never been asked for any kind of ID until my son was just about to turn, but not yet, 2 years old. And then it was only to prove that he was not too old to be a "lap child." In reality, a birth certificate is in no way and ID (no picture, no description) and a child at that age changes so fast that IDs would typically not resemble your child in a month or two.

In terms of milk, if he is 6mos and you are using formula, you can bring the powdered stuff and ask the airline people for water. If you want actual milk, bring a bottle or two and buy more during a lay over!

My last IM flew with her son at 2 days old. She had a letter from the doctor saying he was in good health and that was it. (Actually she had a copy of the surrogate contract.) I read on TSAs website yesterday that children under the age of two (I think it was) don't have to have ID. Let me find that for you.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/acceptable_documen...

I flew with my 8 month old daughter in Sept. on US Air. We offered her birth cert. at security and they waved it off both directions. I felt better with it just in case as I couldn't get a straight answer either. As for bringing your car seat, its helpful if you bring a carrier, so you can put the baby in that while you organize all of your stuff after it has been scanned (put the things you will need first on the belt first so they come out first...like your carrier, so you can strap baby in and then move on to your other stuff.) Also, make sure you go in the family line that way you won't be rushed. Have fun on your trip!

Flown out of LAX for 8 years now with my children... I have 3 kids and they have NEVER asked for a birth certificate, but an Immunization Card is a must to make sure your child's birthdate is consistant with the age you have given them... And it's good to travel with your Imm. card just in case of emergency... But like someone else mentioned since you bought a seat you do not need ID... When I travel with my older boys, they never ask for IDs... If you ever want to travel with lap child though it's good to make sure you call the airport the day before and let them know... Sometimes they make a note of it and print your baby's name on the card, and sometimes they are like OK whatever... I just try to call just incase. :)