How to Renew Global Entry

Updated September 2026 · Vacation Checklists

Here is how to renew Global Entry in one paragraph: sign in to your Trusted Traveler Programs account at ttp.cbp.dhs.gov, click Renew, confirm your addresses and travel documents, and pay the renewal fee. The renewal window opens one year before your membership expires, and filing before the expiration date is what keeps your benefits running while CBP works through the queue.

The single fact that trips people up: your membership expires on your birthday, not on the anniversary of your approval. Open your TTP dashboard and read the actual date off the screen before you plan anything.

Renewing keeps your customs lane and your PreCheck screening alive, but it never changes what you're allowed to carry through the checkpoint. Settle any questionable item in about ten seconds with our free Can I Bring It? checker.

Updated September 2026. Global Entry is run by US Customs and Border Protection. Windows, grace periods, interview policies, and fees all change, and CBP has adjusted several of them in recent years. Confirm the current details at ttp.cbp.dhs.gov before you rely on any date here.

When the Renewal Window Opens

CBP lets you start a renewal up to one year before your membership expires. Before that point the Renew button simply isn't in your account, so logging in early just wastes five minutes.

Here's the whole timeline in one place.

The line that matters most is the last one. A renewal filed before your expiration date behaves very differently from an application filed after it, even if you file one day late.

CBP's published policy has allowed members who filed on time to keep their benefits while the renewal sits pending, for a stretch measured in months rather than weeks. That cushion exists because processing times swing wildly with staffing and application volume. It is not a promise, and it is not a reason to file late. Treat it as a safety net, not a plan.

How to Renew Global Entry Online, Step by Step

The whole thing is one session in your browser. Give it twenty minutes and have your passport in front of you.

1. Go to ttp.cbp.dhs.gov and sign in. Your login runs through Login.gov. If you set up your original application years ago under a different system, you'll be walked through linking it. Do this part first, before you're in a hurry, because account recovery is the slowest step in the whole process.
2. Read your dashboard. It shows your PASSID (that's your Known Traveler Number), your membership status, and your exact expiration date. Screenshot it. You'll want that PASSID for airline profiles later.
3. Click Renew. If the button isn't there, you're outside the twelve month window or your account has a hold on it. A hold usually means CBP needs updated information from you.
4. Update your addresses and employment. You'll list where you've lived and worked for the past five years. Gaps and vague entries are the number one cause of a renewal getting kicked back for more information.
5. Update your travel documents. New passport since last time? Enter the new number and expiration. This is where most stale records live. A passport number that no longer exists in the system can stall a renewal for weeks.
6. Answer the eligibility questions honestly. Arrests, citations, and customs violations since your last approval all need to be declared, including ones that were dismissed. CBP already has the records. The declaration is the test, not the incident.
7. Pay the renewal fee. It's nonrefundable and it's charged whether or not you're approved, so read your answers once more before you submit. The current amount is shown on the CBP application page as you check out.
8. Save the confirmation. Print the PDF or save it to your phone. If a border officer ever asks about your status while your renewal is pending, that confirmation is your proof you filed on time.

After you submit, your dashboard status changes. The two you'll see most are "Pending Review" and "Conditionally Approved." Pending Review means it's sitting in the queue. Conditionally Approved means CBP wants an interview.

Do You Need Another Interview?

Most renewals don't require one. CBP already has your fingerprints, your photo, and five more years of your travel history, so the standard path is a records check with no appointment at all.

You will get pulled in for an interview when something changed materially:

• A new legal name, most often after a marriage or divorce
• A new country of citizenship or a second passport (our guide to dual citizenship and which passport to use covers traveling on two)
• An arrest, citation, or customs seizure since your last approval
• A long stretch of residence abroad that CBP can't easily verify
• Random selection, which does happen

If your status flips to Conditionally Approved, the dashboard will tell you to schedule. Enrollment center appointments book out badly at big airports, so check twice a day for a while. Cancellations open constantly and get taken within minutes.

Two shortcuts are worth knowing. Enrollment on Arrival lets you finish the interview right after you land from an international trip, at participating airports, with no appointment. And a small airport two hours away often has openings next week while your home airport is showing next spring.

Bring your valid passport, your permanent resident card if you have one, and proof of residency such as a driver's license or a utility bill in your name. The interview itself usually runs under fifteen minutes and is mostly the officer confirming what you typed.

What Happens If Your Membership Already Expired

This is the situation people write in about, and the answer depends entirely on how far past the date you are.

Expired, but you filed the renewal before the date. You're generally fine. Your benefits continue while the renewal is pending. Keep your confirmation on your phone.

Expired, nothing filed, and it's recent. You may still be able to file a renewal rather than a fresh application. Log in and look for the Renew button. If it's there, use it today.

Expired, nothing filed, and it's been a long while. The Renew option disappears and you apply as a new member. That means a new application, a new fee, and an interview at an enrollment center. There's no penalty beyond the time and the money, but you'll be starting from the back of the line.

One thing catches people out mid gap: your Known Traveler Number stops working the moment your membership lapses. Your PreCheck line disappears from your boarding passes, usually with no warning at all. If your boarding pass suddenly stops saying TSA Pre, check your TTP dashboard before you blame the airline. Our guide to what TSA PreCheck actually gets you covers the difference between the two programs and which one is worth keeping.

Worked Example: One Renewal Timeline, Start to Finish

Say Maria was approved on March 14, 2021, and her birthday is November 8. Her card shows an expiration of November 8, 2026, because Global Entry runs to your birthday in the fifth year, not to the anniversary of approval.

Two details matter here. First, Maria filed ten months early and still needed six months of processing, which is exactly why the twelve month window exists. Second, she did the interview on a trip she was already taking, so it cost her ten minutes instead of a day off work.

Notice also that the new term ran from her old expiration date, not from the approval date. Filing early doesn't burn any of your membership.

Renewal Versus Applying Fresh

If you're weighing whether to bother, the comparison is lopsided.

The interview is the real difference. Enrollment center appointments at busy airports have been the bottleneck in this program for years, and a renewal usually lets you skip it entirely. That alone is worth setting the calendar reminder. If you're helping someone sign up for the first time instead, our Global Entry application walkthrough covers the new applicant path end to end.

Keeping Your PreCheck Benefit Alive Through the Renewal

Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck screening, and that link runs on your PASSID. Two things break it more often than an expired membership does.

A name mismatch. The name in your airline profile has to match your TTP record. "Mike" in your frequent flyer account and "Michael" on your Global Entry record will quietly kill the benefit on that airline.

A missing number. Airlines drop the Known Traveler Number field during profile migrations more often than you'd think. After you renew, open each airline profile you actually use and re read the KTN field. It takes two minutes per airline and it's the single most common fix.

Also worth doing while you're in there: check that the passport number in your airline profile matches the one you just entered in your TTP renewal. If you're comparing the two programs before you commit, our breakdown of PreCheck versus Global Entry lays out who each one actually suits.

Mistakes That Cost People Their Membership

These come up over and over.

• Waiting for a reminder email. CBP does send them, but they land in spam constantly and the address on file is often five years stale. Use your own calendar.
• Assuming the anniversary date. It's your birthday. Read the dashboard.
• Leaving out a dismissed citation. A dismissed charge is not a disqualifier. Failing to declare it gets treated as a much bigger problem.
• Skipping the address history. Five years, no gaps, including short term rentals and study abroad.
• Renewing but never updating the airline profiles. You'll have a valid membership and no PreCheck line, which feels identical to being expired.
• Letting the passport expire underneath it. Global Entry and your passport are separate documents on separate clocks. Many countries also want six months of validity left on the day you enter, which our six month passport rule guide explains in detail.

The fix for almost all of these is one calendar entry titled "Global Entry renewal window opens," set for your birthday, one year out. Set it now, while you're thinking about it.

What to Do Right Now, in Order

1. Sign in to ttp.cbp.dhs.gov and write down your expiration date.
2. Add a calendar reminder for exactly one year before that date.
3. If the window is already open, file today. Nothing is gained by waiting.
4. After approval, update the Known Traveler Number in every airline profile you use.
5. Put your PASSID somewhere you can actually find it, alongside your passport details in your travel document checklist.

That's the whole job. The renewal itself is genuinely easy. The failure is almost always the calendar, not the paperwork.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a Global Entry renewal take?

It varies enormously, from a few days to well over a year, depending on CBP staffing and whether your file needs a second look. That range is exactly why the renewal window opens a full year ahead. File as early as the system lets you and treat any faster result as a bonus.

Can I still use Global Entry while my renewal is pending?

Generally yes, if you filed before your expiration date. CBP policy has allowed pending members to keep using the benefits for a period after expiration. Carry your renewal confirmation on your phone and check the current policy at ttp.cbp.dhs.gov before an important trip.

Does my new five year term start from approval or from my old expiration?

From your old expiration date. Renewing early does not shorten your membership, which removes any reason to wait. The one exception is a lapsed membership that has to be filed as a new application, where the term starts at approval instead.

Is the renewal fee refundable if I get denied?

No. The fee covers processing the application, not the outcome, and it's charged whether you're approved or not. That's the practical reason to answer the eligibility questions carefully rather than quickly. The current amount is listed on the official CBP application page.

Do I need to renew if I only care about TSA PreCheck?

If your PreCheck comes through Global Entry, then yes, letting Global Entry lapse takes PreCheck with it. Some people renew PreCheck on its own instead, since it's cheaper and skips the interview for renewals. Our PreCheck timing guide covers how long that alternative path runs.

What if my name changed since my last approval?

Update it in the renewal and expect an interview. Bring the legal document showing the change, such as a marriage certificate or a court order, along with a passport in the new name. Then fix the name in your airline profiles too, because a mismatch there quietly disables the PreCheck benefit.

My kids are on Global Entry. Do they renew separately?

Yes. Every member has their own membership, their own PASSID, and their own expiration date tied to their own birthday. Minors need a parent or guardian present at any interview. Family expirations rarely line up, so put each one on the calendar separately.

Can I renew from outside the United States?

The online portion works from anywhere with an internet connection. If CBP asks for an interview, you'll need an enrollment center or an Enrollment on Arrival lane, and those are almost all inside the US or at a handful of preclearance locations abroad. Plan the interview around a trip home rather than making a special one.