Lesson 11 of 16 Phase 2: Working with service members
Navigating Military Protocol: ID, Base Access, and Conduct on an Installation
In this lesson: 5 sections
Since May 7, 2025, an adult visitor without a Defense Department ID needs a REAL ID-compliant license or another accepted document, such as a U.S. passport, to get onto a military installation. Installations such as Fort Carson run a background check before issuing a pass for unescorted access, and at installations such as Fort Jackson a visitor without an accepted ID must be escorted. Each installation sets its own procedure. Once inside, stay with your host, stay out of restricted areas, and stand for the national anthem; civilians do not salute.
Sources checked: September 26, 2026
Which ID gets you through the gate
| Your situation | What the installation pages quoted here describe |
|---|---|
| You hold a valid DoD ID card | Access is not affected by the REAL ID rule |
| You have a REAL ID-compliant driver's license | Accepted as identification; a visitor pass may still require a background check |
| No REAL ID, but a U.S. passport or passport card, an enhanced driver's license, or another listed document | Accepted as an alternative at installations such as Fort Jackson |
| None of these | At Fort Jackson, escort at all times by a DoD ID card holder; check the rule where you are going |
Sources for the table: <a href="https://www.army.mil/article/282527/realidrequirementtoaccessmilitaryinstallationsbeginsmay7whattoknow”>army.mil, Fort Jackson REAL ID page, Fort Carson visitor information.
Fort Jackson states the rule this way: “Beginning May 7, 2025, anyone 18 years and older that plans to visit Fort Jackson will need a REAL ID or another acceptable form of identification to enter U.S. military bases or board federally regulated commercial aircraft.” Its list of alternatives includes a “United States Passport or United States Passport Card” and an “Enhanced driver’s license issued by a State, territory, possession, or the District of Columbia.” The accepted list is set by each installation, so check the visitor page of the one you are going to.
The background check and the visitor pass
A visitor without a DoD ID or installation pass who wants to move around unescorted is checked first. At Fort Carson, for example, “All personnel requesting unescorted access to Fort Carson, and not in possession of a DOD ID card or installation pass, will undergo a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) background check,” and “Visitors can apply online for a pass from their computer or mobile device” (Fort Carson).
Before the day of the visit, settle four things with your host:
- The installation’s visitor page. It lists the accepted IDs, whether the pass can be requested online, and where and when the visitor center is open.
- The gate. Ask which gate handles visitors on the day and at the hour you arrive.
- Who is sponsoring or escorting you, and a phone number that reaches them from the gate.
- What you are bringing. Laptops, phones, recording devices, and documents may be restricted in some buildings; ask before you arrive rather than at the door.
Escorts, restricted areas, and photographs
Being on an installation is conditional. Federal law makes it a crime to go onto a military installation “for any purpose prohibited by law or lawful regulation,” or to come back “after having been removed therefrom or ordered not to reenter by any officer or person in command or charge thereof”; the penalty can reach six months’ imprisonment (18 U.S.C. 1382).
If you are escorted, the escort decides where you go. If you walk into a space you should not be in, stop, say so to your escort or the nearest security person, and follow their instructions; trying to leave quietly makes an honest mistake look like something else.
Photography has its own rule. For installations and equipment that the President has designated for protection, it is unlawful to make “any photograph, sketch, picture, drawing, map, or graphical representation” without first obtaining permission of the commanding officer (18 U.S.C. 795). A visitor cannot tell by looking which areas are covered, so ask before taking any picture.
Ceremonies and courtesies
Civilians are not expected to salute. During the national anthem, federal law asks “all other persons present” to “face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart”; when no flag is displayed, “all present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed.” Veterans and service members out of uniform “may render the military salute” (36 U.S.C. 301). When a ceremony you did not expect begins, following what the people around you do is a sound fallback.
How to address the people you meet, by rank and title, is covered in ranks, titles, and written requests.
If you are a lawyer visiting a client
Confinement facilities, courtrooms, and defense offices can set their own visitor rules. Contact the facility before the visit and, if the service member has detailed military defense counsel, coordinate with that counsel, who can tell you what the local office requires; how civilian and military counsel divide the work is explained in working alongside military defense counsel.
The deciding question before any visit is whether your ID and your host are settled; if either is not, fix it before you drive to the gate. This page describes general federal rules and examples from specific Army installations; the installation you visit sets its own procedures.