Flying without Real ID will soon cost you. What it means for Atlanta travelers.

Starting Feb. 1, those still flying without a Real ID will have to pay $45 to do so, the Transportation Security Administration says.

The agency stopped accepting non-Real ID compliant identification cards at all airports last May and is entering a new phase of enforcement.

Georgia began issuing Real ID-compliant driver’s licenses in 2012.

The state Department of Driver Services said last year that 99.9% of valid Georgia licenses and IDs are already covered. ID cards with a black or gold star in the upper right corner are compliant.

TSA’s Georgia State Director Michael Donnelly said last week, “This is really an opportunity to ensure that we carry out a critical security step in our multilayered approach to verify the passenger’s identity.”

Nationwide, 94% of travelers are flying with acceptable forms of ID, according to TSA. Georgia’s rate is 93.1%.

The ones traveling without the documentation are people who “don’t have — or didn’t bring — a Real ID, a U.S. Passport, passport card or any of the other 20 acceptable forms of ID that they can use,” TSA spokesman Daniel Velez added.

“Some of them maybe left it at home … others just don’t have anything.”

Some passengers could also be undocumented immigrants, Velez said. He said the agency does not keep statistics on non-Real ID compliant travelers.

The $45 fee is to cover the costs of manually verifying passengers’ identities. That cost up until now has been absorbed by taxpayers, he said.

Travelers will be asked to use a phone or computer at the checkpoint to pay the fee online and show a receipt, which is valid for a 10-day travel period. It could add 15 to 30 minutes to a journey, he estimated, but passengers can also save time by paying in advance online.