How to Apply for Global Entry, Step by Step

Updated September 2026 · Vacation Checklists

Here is how to apply for Global Entry in short: create a Login.gov account, fill in the Trusted Traveler Programs (TTP) application at ttp.cbp.dhs.gov, pay the nonrefundable application fee, wait for conditional approval, then complete a short in-person interview at an enrollment center. Once you pass, you get a five-year membership that speeds up US customs and immigration on the way home and includes TSA PreCheck benefits on the way out.

The form takes 20 to 30 minutes if your passport and five years of address and job history are in front of you. Everything after that is waiting, and the waiting is the part you cannot compress, so start early rather than a month before a big trip.

Global Entry changes how fast you clear the border, not what you're allowed to carry through it. Check any questionable item in seconds with our free Can I Bring It? checker.

Updated September 2026. Global Entry is run by US Customs and Border Protection. Fees, eligibility, processing times, and interview options all change, and the officer at the counter always has the final say. Confirm current details at ttp.cbp.dhs.gov before you pay anything.

A note on numbers. No dollar figures on this page. The Global Entry fee is set by CBP, it has been revised before, and a printed amount here would eventually send someone to the payment screen expecting the wrong number. What you get instead is where the fee sits in the process, what makes it nonrefundable, who reimburses it, and the one official page to check it on the day you apply.

What You're Actually Buying

Global Entry is CBP's trusted traveler program for arriving in the United States. Instead of joining the general passport control line after a long-haul flight, you go to the Global Entry area, get processed with facial biometrics or a kiosk, and walk out with a receipt.

Three things come with membership:

• Expedited entry into the US at participating international arrival airports, plus dedicated lanes at some land border crossings and processing for cruise arrivals at seaports.
• TSA PreCheck benefits on domestic and outbound departures, because your Global Entry PASSID doubles as a Known Traveler Number. That's the same lighter screening described in our guide to what TSA PreCheck is.
• A physical Global Entry card, which matters for land and sea crossings and does nothing at all at an airport.

What it does not do: it doesn't speed up your check-in, your security wait in a foreign airport, or your bag coming off the belt. You still collect checked luggage like everyone else. The saving is the immigration queue, which after a nine-hour flight is often the worst 45 minutes of the trip.

Who Can Apply

Global Entry is open to US citizens, US nationals, and US lawful permanent residents. It is also open to citizens of a list of partner countries, and that list has grown over the years to include places such as the United Kingdom, Germany, India, Mexico, South Korea, and several others.

The partner-country route is different in one important way: those applicants usually have to be vetted and approved by their own country's program first, and that step can add months. CBP publishes the current partner list and the extra requirements for each one, so check it there rather than assuming your passport qualifies.

There's no income test, no minimum number of flights, and no credit check. CBP is looking at your criminal history, your customs and immigration history, and whether what you wrote on the form is true.

One rule catches families out. Every traveler needs their own membership, including infants. A child cannot ride through a Global Entry lane on a parent's approval the way a young child can use a PreCheck lane. As part of the October 2024 fee change, CBP said applicants under 18 could get Global Entry at no cost when a parent or legal guardian is a member. That policy has moved before, so confirm the current wording on the CBP site before you decide whether to pay for a child.

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Gather this first. The application times out, and hunting for an old landlord's address halfway through is how people end up submitting something incomplete.

Two documents deserve special attention. Your passport has to still be valid when you attend the interview, and your membership will be tied to it, so if your passport expires in eight months, renew that first. And if you hold a permanent resident card, bring the physical card to the interview. A photocopy is not accepted.

How to Apply for Global Entry: The Seven Steps

This is the whole process, in order.

1. Create a Login.gov account. CBP's Trusted Traveler Programs portal signs you in through Login.gov, the shared federal login service. If you already used it for another government service, use the same account. You'll set up two-factor authentication, so have your phone handy.
2. Open a TTP account and choose Global Entry. In the portal, pick Global Entry rather than NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST. Global Entry is the right choice for most people because it includes PreCheck. If you cross the Canadian border regularly, read up on NEXUS before you commit.
3. Fill in the application. Personal details, passport, five years of addresses, five years of employment, travel history, and the criminal and customs history questions. Budget 20 to 30 minutes. Save as you go.
4. Pay the application fee. It's due when you submit and it is nonrefundable whether or not you're approved. This is why the honesty questions matter so much: a denial costs you the full fee. The current amount is shown on the payment screen in the TTP portal before you confirm, so read it there rather than trusting any figure you saw elsewhere.
5. Wait for conditional approval. CBP runs its background vetting. When it clears, your TTP account status changes and you get an email telling you to schedule an interview. Not everyone gets conditionally approved, and some applications sit in review for a long time.
6. Schedule and attend the interview. Book a slot at an enrollment center, or use Enrollment on Arrival, covered below. The interview itself runs about 10 to 15 minutes. You'll be fingerprinted and photographed.
7. Get approved and set up your benefits. Your status flips to Approved, you receive a PASSID, and a card arrives in the mail a couple of weeks later. Add the PASSID to your airline profiles and activate the card.

The single most common mistake in that list is step 3. Address and employment history must have no gaps. If you were between jobs for four months in 2023, say so and put "unemployed" with the dates. A gap looks like a concealment and can send the file into manual review.

What Conditional Approval Actually Means

Conditional approval is not approval. It means your background check came back clean enough for CBP to want to meet you.

Here's what the statuses in your TTP dashboard usually mean:

Once you're conditionally approved, book the interview the same day if you can. Popular enrollment centers at big-city airports fill their calendars far in advance, and a slot you don't take is gone. If nothing is available near you, check smaller regional centers, then check again a few days later. Cancellations appear constantly, and the portal shows real availability rather than a waitlist.

Some travelers also complete the interview at a center hundreds of miles away while on another trip. Nothing stops you from booking a center in another state if you'll be there anyway.

The Interview: What Actually Happens

The interview is short and it is not a test. An officer confirms your identity, checks your documents, asks a few questions about your travel and your application answers, takes your fingerprints and photo, and explains how to use the lanes.

Bring:

• Your valid passport (the same one on the application).
• A second form of ID, usually your driver's license.
• Your permanent resident card, if you're an LPR.
• Proof of residency if the officer asks, such as a utility bill or a lease. Not always requested, easy to have in a folder.

Typical questions are along the lines of where you travel, why you want the program, and confirmation of anything unusual in your history. Answer plainly. If you have a decades-old citation you already disclosed, say so again in one sentence and move on.

Two practical notes. Arrive 15 minutes early, because most enrollment centers sit airside or inside secured federal buildings and getting to the desk takes time. And do not miss the appointment. Repeated no-shows can cost you the application, and rebooking often means going back to the end of a long calendar.

Enrollment on Arrival: Skipping the Appointment Queue

This is the part most applicants don't know about, and it's the biggest time saver in the whole process.

Enrollment on Arrival (EoA) lets conditionally approved applicants complete the interview while clearing customs on a return international trip, with no appointment and no separate visit. You land, you follow the signs for Enrollment on Arrival in the arrivals hall, and an officer processes you right there.

Who it works for:

• You're already conditionally approved. EoA is not a way to skip the application.
• You're arriving into the US from abroad at a participating airport.
• You have your passport and documents on you, which you will, because you just flew internationally.

CBP publishes the list of participating airports and the hours the EoA counters operate, and both change. If you have an international trip booked and you're sitting conditionally approved, this is almost always faster than waiting for an appointment slot at home. Add it to your international travel checklist so you don't forget on landing day.

The catch: EoA availability depends on staffing that day, and a very late arrival may find the desk closed. Treat it as a strong option, not a guarantee, and keep a booked appointment as a backup if you already have one.

After Approval: The Three Steps People Skip

Approval alone doesn't do anything. Three follow-ups turn it into actual benefits.

1. Add your PASSID to every airline profile. Your PASSID is a nine-digit number in your TTP dashboard, and it functions as your Known Traveler Number. Put it in your frequent flyer profiles so it auto-fills, and add it manually to any booking you made before approval. Without it on the reservation, no PreCheck marking prints, and this is the number one reason people say the program "doesn't work."

2. Activate the card. The physical card arrives separately by mail and needs activating through your TTP account or by phone. It's only used at land borders and seaports. You do not need it at an airport, and you should not carry it every day, because replacing a lost card costs money and time.

3. Check the name match. The name on your bookings has to match your enrollment record. Middle names, hyphens, and suffixes all matter. A mismatch silently kills the PreCheck marking.

Then put two dates in your calendar: your expiry date, and a reminder one year before it. Global Entry renewal has its own timing rules, and starting early is free while starting late is expensive. Our guide on how to renew Global Entry covers the window and the grace period.

What Gets Applications Denied

CBP does not publish a simple pass or fail list, but the refusal reasons that come up repeatedly are consistent:

• Any customs or agriculture violation, including the undeclared apple in a carry-on that got you a written warning years ago. These sit in CBP's own records and they surface.
• Criminal convictions, with serious offenses generally disqualifying and lesser ones judged case by case.
• Pending charges or open warrants.
• Immigration violations, including overstays.
• False or incomplete information on the form. This is the avoidable one. An omission you thought was tidy reads as a lie.
• Insufficient residency history to vet, which sometimes affects people who recently moved to the US.

If you're refused, the letter names a reason code. You can ask for reconsideration through the CBP Trusted Traveler Ombudsman, and there's a separate DHS redress program (TRIP) for travelers who believe they've been misidentified. Both are free to start, and neither is fast.

The Fee, and How Not to Pay It

The Global Entry application fee buys a five-year membership. It is charged at submission, not at approval, and it is nonrefundable either way. CBP sets it, CBP has changed it before, and the only number that matters is the one on the payment screen the day you submit.

The ordering above is stable even when the amounts move, which is why it is more useful than a price list. Confirm the actual fee for whichever program you pick on that program's own CBP page before you pay.

Now the part worth real money: a large number of travel rewards credit cards reimburse the Global Entry fee as a statement credit, typically once every four or five years. If you hold one of those cards, pay with it and your effective cost is zero. Many cards also let you use the credit for an authorized user or a family member, which is how couples get two memberships for nothing. Check your own card's terms, because they differ.

Employers reimburse it too, especially for anyone who travels internationally for work. Ask before you pay out of pocket.

And do not use a third-party site that offers to "process" your application for a fee. There is no expedited channel to buy. Those services type the same form you can type yourself and charge you extra for it.

Work out your own cost per crossing

You can settle whether the fee is worth it in about a minute, and the arithmetic is more convincing when you do it with your own travel pattern than when you read someone else's.

Count the arrivals, not the trips. One international round trip is one US arrival, so two international round trips a year is ten arrivals across a five-year membership. Divide the fee on the payment screen by that number and you have your cost per border crossing. Someone who flies internationally four times a year halves it. Someone who goes once a year doubles it.

Then add the domestic side, which is where the number really moves and where most people forget to look. The same membership gives you PreCheck on every departure, international and domestic. A traveler who also takes four domestic round trips a year picks up forty more departures through the lighter screening lane over those five years. Run the division again against fifty airport events instead of ten and the per-use number collapses. That is before any card reimbursement, which for a lot of applicants takes the effective cost to nothing at all.

The honest comparison is also not "Global Entry vs nothing." It is Global Entry vs PreCheck, and the gap between the two fees is small for a program that includes PreCheck anyway, which is why the usual advice is to skip straight to Global Entry unless you never leave the country. Our full TSA PreCheck vs Global Entry breakdown has that comparison in detail, and our TSA PreCheck cost page covers the money side of PreCheck on its own.

How Long the Whole Thing Takes

CBP publishes a current processing estimate on its Trusted Traveler Programs pages, and it has changed several times as application volume has moved. Rather than quoting a number that may be out of date by the time you read this, check the estimate on the official site the day you apply.

What's more useful is knowing which parts are variable and which aren't:

• The form: 20 to 30 minutes, entirely under your control.
• The vetting: the long, unpredictable stage. Nothing speeds it up, and contacting CBP does not move you up the queue.
• The interview slot: highly variable by location, and often the real bottleneck. Enrollment on Arrival is the workaround.
• The interview itself: 10 to 15 minutes.
• The card in the mail: a couple of weeks after approval, and irrelevant for flying.

The practical takeaway: apply well before you need it, not the season you need it. If you have a trip in three months, apply today and plan the trip as though you won't have it yet.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to apply for Global Entry?

One fee covers a five-year membership. It is charged when you submit and it is nonrefundable whether or not you're approved. CBP publishes the current amount on its Trusted Traveler Programs site and it also appears on the payment screen before you confirm, so check it there rather than relying on a figure quoted anywhere else. Many travel credit cards reimburse it in full as a statement credit, and plenty of employers cover it for staff who travel internationally, so ask both before you pay out of pocket.

Do I get TSA PreCheck with Global Entry?

Yes. Global Entry members receive PreCheck benefits, and your nine-digit PASSID acts as your Known Traveler Number. Enter it into your airline profiles and bookings. If you already hold Global Entry, do not buy a separate PreCheck membership, because you already have those benefits.

What happens if I fail the Global Entry interview?

The interview is a document and identity check rather than a test you can fail on the day. Applications are refused during vetting far more often than at the counter. If you're denied, the notice names a reason, and you can request reconsideration through the CBP Trusted Traveler Ombudsman. The application fee is not refunded.

Can I do the interview without booking an appointment?

Often, yes. Enrollment on Arrival lets conditionally approved applicants finish the interview while clearing customs on a return international flight at participating airports, with no appointment. It depends on the airport and on staffing that day, so treat it as a strong option rather than a guaranteed one.

Does my child need their own Global Entry membership?

Yes. Unlike PreCheck, where young children can accompany an enrolled parent, every traveler needs their own Global Entry membership, including infants. CBP said in its October 2024 fee change that applicants under 18 could enroll at no cost when a parent or legal guardian is a member, so check the current policy before paying.

How long is Global Entry valid?

Five years, and it expires on your birthday in the fifth year rather than exactly five years from approval, which surprises people. Set a calendar reminder a year ahead. Our Global Entry renewal guide covers the window, the grace period, and what happens if you let it lapse.

Do I need the physical Global Entry card to fly?

No. At an airport you're processed by facial biometrics or a kiosk using your passport, and the card stays home. The card is for land border crossings and seaport arrivals. It still needs activating through your TTP account when it arrives, so do that once and put it somewhere safe.

What documents should I bring to the appointment?

Your valid passport, a second photo ID such as a driver's license, and your permanent resident card if you hold one. Some officers ask for proof of your current address, so carry a utility bill or lease as insurance. Our travel document checklist covers what else is worth keeping in one folder.

Next step: if you're weighing the two programs first, read TSA PreCheck vs Global Entry before you pay. Once you're approved, check anything questionable with the free Can I Bring It? checker, and work through the international travel checklist before your first trip on the new membership.