First your friend needs to call the police and report the wallet stolen if he has not yet done that. He may then want to carry around a copy of the police report.
Your friend should contact the Alabama Department of Public Safety (DPS), the licensing agency for AL, and notify them that his wallet with his driver's license was stolen while he was out of state and see what they can do about issuing him at least a temporary identification so that he can board an airplane to return home and obtain a duplicate license.
The DPS notes that if your license is lost, destroyed, or becomes illegible, but has not yet expired, you should apply for a duplicate license at your Probate Judge or License Commissioner Office with acceptable identification. No examination is necessary but proof of identity such as a certified birth certificate is required at time of application.
The number to call for the driver's license department of the DPS is 334-242-4400.
Your friend should also contact the airline he is to fly on and see what they will require of him at check in area and gate since he does not have his driver's license to show as identification.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is the government agency in charge of security checkpoints in the airport. According to the TSA website beginning June 21, 2008 passengers that willfully refuse to provide identification at security checkpoint will be denied access to the secure area of airports. This change will apply exclusively to individuals that simply refuse to provide any identification or assist transportation security officers in ascertaining their identity.
This new procedure will not affect passengers that may have misplaced, lost or otherwise do not have ID but are cooperative with officers. Cooperative passengers without ID may be subjected to additional screening protocols, including enhanced physical screening, enhanced carry-on and/or checked baggage screening, interviews with behavior detection or law enforcement officers and other measures. So it appears from this TSA information that your friend should be able to fly if he is cooperates and goes through additional screenings.
Under the law that created TSA, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, the TSA administrator is responsible for overseeing aviation security and has the authority to establish security procedures at airports (49 C.F.R. 1540.107). Passengers that fail to comply with security procedures may be prohibited from entering the secure area of airports to catch their flight (49 C.F.R. 1540.105(a)(2).
So to make sure that the TSA screeners believe that your friend has lost or had his license stolen he may want to have the police report to show and if the AL DPS is able to fax him any type of temporary identification have that to show at the airport.
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