TSA agent begs passengers to stop bringing 'useless' items to airport and lists 3 worst culprits

A TSA employee has shared three items that people bring to airports which they should not have with them, though not for the reason you might think.

Air travel is a wonder of the modern age, but of course comes with its own set of travails such as getting your shampoo and sun cream confiscated at security for not being below 100ml.

But the items the TSA agent begged people not to bring, starting their post 'please, I beg of you to stop', aren't the sort of thing that security will confiscate.

In fact the agent took to Reddit with a post on the TSA page warning people that they should not bring certain forms of ID to the airport as they are not necessary, and they are risking losing difficult to replace documents.

"Stop bringing your social security card with you, your birth certificate or birth certificates for your kids," they wrote, adding: "Birth certs and SS cards are valid documents but wholly useless to us at TSA."

When it comes to travelling internationally, you would of course need to bring your passport with you to make sure that you are able to board your flight and to pass through any border checks when you arrive.

The TSA has rules about which IDs are valid (Getty Stock)

But things are a little different when you are travelling on a domestic flight within the US, as this is not a flight that's crossing international borders.

The TSA lists the acceptable forms of ID that passengers can bring with them when they are travelling.

This depends on several factors, for example if someone is a US citizen, is on a residency visa, or is visiting from outside the US, and of course in the latter two cases the rules are different.

But if you're a US citizen travelling on a domestic flight, then you do need to bring an acceptable form of ID to be guaranteed to be able to board your flight, but this doesn't have to be your passport.

The agent advised: "Bring ID cards of any kind that are federal or state issued, or passports.. if you don’t have any of those, don’t bring anything."

The TSA's website also confirms this, listing a host of acceptable ID forms which can be used when boarding a flight.

Going through security is one of the many unpleasant parts of air travel (Getty Stock)

These include 'state-issued REAL ID-compliant driver's licenses or identification cards', a State-issued Enhanced Driver's License or Enhanced Identification Card, or a Mobile Driver's Licence which has been 'issued by states that have been approved for Federal use.'

But if you somehow manage to show up to the airport for a flight without any ID whatsoever, then there is actually still an option called confirmID, where you pay a $45 fee and officers will 'attempt to verify your identity', though they warn this is not a guarantee.

This came into force from February 1 2026.

"If you don’t have the required form of ID, that’s what the confirmID process is for," the officer wrote. "Just bring yourself and your belongings. There’s no sense in damaging or losing something that can’t help you at the airport anyway."

Of course the rules will be different if you are not a US citizen.