Complete guide to Global Entry. Application process, interview tips, costs, and how it includes TSA PreCheck for domestic flights.
Benefits
Expedited customs and immigration when entering the U.S.
Use automated kiosks instead of waiting in customs lines
Includes TSA PreCheck for domestic flights at no extra cost
Available at major U.S. airports and select international locations
How to Apply
Apply online through the Trusted Traveler Programs (TTP) website
Pay the $120 fee (covers 5 years)
Complete a background check and in-person interview
Interviews available at airports and enrollment centers
Global Entry costs $120 for five years, includes TSA PreCheck at no extra charge, and speeds up customs and immigration when you arrive back in the United States. It requires a background check and an interview, which can often be completed as Enrollment on Arrival after an international flight.
How to apply for Global Entry
Create a Trusted Traveler Programs account — Applications go through the official CBP Trusted Traveler Programs portal. You will need your passport, five years of address history, and five years of employment history.
Pay the $120 application fee — The fee is non-refundable and covers five years if approved. Many premium travel credit cards reimburse it, and the credit typically also covers a family member on a separate application.
Wait for conditional approval — CBP reviews the background check first. Conditional approval has taken anywhere from a few weeks to several months in recent years, so apply well ahead of a planned trip.
Complete the interview — Schedule an interview at an enrollment center, or use Enrollment on Arrival at a participating airport — you complete it in the arrivals hall after an international flight without booking an appointment.
Use the kiosk or app on arrival — After approval you skip the standard customs queue and use the Global Entry kiosks or the mobile app at participating airports. Your PreCheck benefit arrives as a Known Traveler Number to add to airline bookings.
Renewal timing and lapses
Membership is valid for five years, expiring at the end of your birth month in the fifth year.
You can file the renewal up to one year before expiration, and the new term begins when the old one ends.
If you file before expiration, benefits continue during processing — CBP allows a grace period of up to 24 months while a timely renewal is pending.
Most renewals are approved without a second interview; CBP schedules one only if the record needs review.
Children under 18 must renew when they turn 18, and a minor’s membership expires on their 18th birthday regardless of the original term.
Who Global Entry fits, and who should skip it
Good fit: at least one international trip a year
At $120 for five years it costs about $45 more than PreCheck alone and adds the customs benefit, which is where the long lines usually are on arrival.
Skip it: you never leave the country
If every trip is domestic, the customs benefit is unused and TSA PreCheck at $76.75 to $85 covers what you actually need.
Consider NEXUS instead
NEXUS costs $50, includes both Global Entry and PreCheck benefits, and is the cheapest route to all three — but interviews are limited to U.S.–Canada border enrollment centers.
Apply early
Processing time is the main constraint. Conditional approval and interview scheduling can stretch for months, so this is not a program to apply for the week before a trip.
What goes wrong with Global Entry
Assuming Global Entry speeds up the security checkpoint on its own — the checkpoint benefit comes from the PreCheck component, which requires the KTN in your booking.
Letting the interview requirement sit unscheduled after conditional approval; the application eventually closes.
Forgetting to add a new passport to the TTP profile after renewing travel documents.
Treating it as a customs exemption. Declaration rules, agricultural restrictions, and duty limits are unchanged.
Missing the birth-month expiration date, which is easy to misread as five years from the interview.
U.S.–Canada border crossings by land, air, and sea
The ID and boarding-pass check only
Cost
$76.75–$85 / 5 years
$120 / 5 years
$50 / 5 years
$219 / year
Includes TSA PreCheck
Yes (it is PreCheck)
Yes
Yes
No — sold separately or bundled
Shoes, belt, light jacket stay on
Yes
Yes, via PreCheck
Yes, via PreCheck
Only if you also have PreCheck
Laptops and 3-1-1 liquids stay in the bag
Yes
Yes, via PreCheck
Yes, via PreCheck
Only if you also have PreCheck
In-person appointment required
Yes — enrollment center visit
Yes — interview, or Enrollment on Arrival
Yes — interview with U.S. and Canadian officers
Yes — biometric enrollment, often at the airport
Availability
200+ U.S. airports, 90+ airlines
Major U.S. international arrival airports
U.S.–Canada land, marine, and air ports of entry
Roughly 55 U.S. airports plus stadiums
Changes what you can pack
No
No
No
No
Which program fits your travel
You only fly domestically — TSA PreCheck alone covers it. It is the cheapest program that changes the checkpoint itself, and it is the benefit most credit cards reimburse.
You leave the country even once every few years — Global Entry is the better buy at $120. It includes full TSA PreCheck benefits, so you are paying about $9 a year more for expedited customs on the way home.
You cross into Canada regularly — NEXUS is $50 for five years and carries both Global Entry and TSA PreCheck benefits — the lowest-cost path to PreCheck if you qualify and can reach an enrollment center.
Your home airport has long ID-check lines — CLEAR+ shortens the document-check wait but does not replace screening. It pays off mainly when paired with PreCheck at a busy airport, or when a card or airline status covers the fee.
You mostly want to bring more through security — No program changes the prohibited items list or the 3-1-1 liquids limit. Those rules apply identically in every lane.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Global Entry include TSA PreCheck?
Yes. Approved Global Entry members receive a Known Traveler Number that provides TSA PreCheck benefits on domestic flights at no additional cost.
How long does Global Entry take to be approved?
Conditional approval has recently ranged from a few weeks to several months, followed by an interview. Enrollment on Arrival lets many applicants complete the interview during an international arrival instead of waiting for an appointment.
Is Global Entry worth it over TSA PreCheck?
It costs about $45 more over five years and adds expedited customs and immigration on U.S. arrival. If you take even one international trip a year, it generally covers more of what slows travelers down.
What happens if my Global Entry expires?
If you filed the renewal before expiration, CBP allows benefits to continue while the renewal is pending. If you did not, you lose kiosk access and the PreCheck benefit until a new approval is issued.
Is TSA PreCheck or Global Entry better?
Global Entry costs $120 for five years and includes TSA PreCheck benefits, while PreCheck alone runs $76.75–$85 for five years. If you take even one international trip in that window, Global Entry is the better value. If you never fly internationally, PreCheck is enough.
Does CLEAR replace TSA PreCheck?
No. CLEAR verifies your identity so you can skip the document-check line, but you still go through the same physical screening. Without PreCheck you will remove shoes, belts, laptops, and liquids as usual.
Do any of these programs change what you can bring on a plane?
No. Prohibited items stay prohibited and the 3-1-1 liquids rule still applies in every lane. The programs change how you are screened, not what may pass through the checkpoint.
What is the cheapest way to get TSA PreCheck benefits?
NEXUS at $50 for five years is the least expensive program that carries PreCheck benefits, though it requires eligibility for U.S.–Canada travel and an interview with officers from both countries. Many travel credit cards also reimburse a PreCheck or Global Entry application fee.
Can you be pulled aside for extra screening with PreCheck?
Yes. TSA officers may run additional screening at any time, and PreCheck eligibility is confirmed per flight rather than guaranteed. Random and unpredictable measures are part of the layered security approach.