It’s a worst-case scenario. You arrive at the airport with your boarding pass printed out, ready to check in and go through security, but you’ve forgotten your I.D.

Does this mean you can’t fly? The TSA will have you go through an identity verification process. You’ll be asked to give your current address as well as other personal details that will be checked against the publicly available databases.

Be aware that this might take some time — in some cases up to 45 minutes — but the good news is that if you’ve flown before and cleared through a TSA checkpoint, in most cases, the agency can obtain enough basic information on you on file, and from you directly, to confirm your identity.