TSA PreCheck
TSA PreCheck Wait Times
TSA says about 99% of passengers wait less than 10 minutes in TSA PreCheck lanes. In those lanes electronics and 3-1-1 liquids stay in your bag; belts, light jackets and shoes stay on. It costs $85 or less for five years.
Source: tsa.gov/precheck, read Nov 2026. TSA Wait Checker is not affiliated with TSA.
TSA PreCheck: what changes at the checkpoint
- What stays on and in your bag: electronics and 3-1-1 liquids stay in your bag; belts, light jackets and shoes stay on.
- Wait: about 99% of passengers wait less than 10 minutes (TSA's figure).
- Families: children 17 and under can join an adult in the PreCheck lane for free.
- Cost and enrollment: $85 or less for five years, through three enrollment providers (CLEAR, IDEMIA and Telos) with over 1,300 enrollment locations.
- Using it: enter your Known Traveler Number in airline reservations to get PreCheck on your boarding pass.
Where PreCheck saves the most time
PreCheck matters most where security is busy for many hours a week. This counts the weekday-hours (out of 168) in which each airport's checkpoints run above 70% of their own busiest hour, from TSA's counts for the 8 weeks to Nov 7, 2026. TSA's counts include every lane, so this is the airport's overall busyness, not a PreCheck wait.
| Airport | Busy hours a week | Busiest window |
|---|---|---|
| MIA TSA wait times Miami | 76 | 2–7 pm on Sundays |
| MCO TSA wait times Orlando | 75 | 5–9 am on Sundays |
| JFK TSA wait times New York JFK | 58 | 2–7 pm on Thursdays |
| EWR TSA wait times Newark | 58 | 5–9 am on Thursdays |
| ORD TSA wait times Chicago O'Hare | 58 | 5–7 am on Thursdays |
| SFO TSA wait times San Francisco | 51 | 9 am–1 pm on Thursdays |
| MSY TSA wait times New Orleans | 49 | 4–7 am on Sundays |
| LAX TSA wait times Los Angeles | 48 | 7–11 am on Sundays |
| DFW TSA wait times Dallas Fort Worth | 46 | 4–6 pm on Thursdays |
| SEA TSA wait times Seattle | 46 | 6–11 am on Thursdays |
| AUS TSA wait times Austin | 46 | 5–7 am on Thursdays |
| ATL TSA wait times Atlanta | 45 | 1–5 pm on Sundays |
| LAS TSA wait times Las Vegas | 43 | 5 am–1 pm on Sundays |
| BNA TSA wait times Nashville | 42 | 11 am–6 pm on Sundays |
| IAH TSA wait times Houston | 37 | 6–7 am on Thursdays |
| DEN TSA wait times Denver | 36 | 8–10 am on Sundays |
| CLT TSA wait times Charlotte | 36 | 1–5 pm on Thursdays |
| LGA TSA wait times LaGuardia | 35 | 5–7 am on Thursdays |
| SAN TSA wait times San Diego | 35 | 5–6 am on Sundays |
| PHL TSA wait times Philadelphia | 34 | 5–8 am on Thursdays |
| DTW TSA wait times Detroit | 29 | 5–8 am on Sundays |
| BWI TSA wait times Baltimore | 25 | 5–8 am on Thursdays |
| MSP TSA wait times Minneapolis | 23 | 5–7 am on Thursdays |
| PDX TSA wait times Portland | 23 | 5–7 am on Sundays |
| PHX TSA wait times Phoenix | 21 | 6–8 am on Sundays |
| PIT TSA wait times Pittsburgh | 21 | 4–6 am on Mondays |
| DCA TSA wait times Reagan National | 17 | 6–7 am on Fridays |
| RDU TSA wait times Raleigh-Durham | 17 | 4–7 am on Fridays |
| IAD TSA wait times Dulles | 16 | 3–5 pm on Fridays |
| CVG TSA wait times Cincinnati | 12 | 5–7 am on Sundays |
Which checkpoints have PreCheck
From the airports' own pages, checked by hand. Airports not listed here have not been checked checkpoint by checkpoint yet.
- DEN: West Security, East Security
- ATL: Domestic Terminal South, International Terminal Departures
- SEA: Checkpoint 3, Checkpoint 6, Checkpoint 5, Checkpoint 1
- MSP: T2 Checkpoint 2
- CLT: Checkpoint 2
- PHL: Terminal D/E, Terminal A-East, Terminal C
- SFO: Checkpoint D, Checkpoint F, Checkpoint A, Checkpoint B, Mezzanine Level, Checkpoint G
- SAN: Terminal 1, Terminal 2 West, Terminal 2 East
- IAH: Terminal E, Terminal C North, Terminal A North, Terminal D
- IAD: TSA PreCheck checkpoint, West Security
PreCheck or CLEAR?
They do different things and can be used together. CLEAR vs PreCheck, side by side.
TSA PreCheck wait times: questions
How long are TSA PreCheck wait times?
TSA says about 99% of passengers wait less than 10 minutes in PreCheck lanes. It does not publish PreCheck waits by airport, and its checkpoint counts do not split PreCheck from standard lanes.
What do you keep on in the PreCheck lane?
With PreCheck, electronics and 3-1-1 liquids stay in your bag; belts, light jackets and shoes stay on, according to TSA.
How much does TSA PreCheck cost?
TSA lists $85 or less for five years, through three enrollment providers (CLEAR, IDEMIA and Telos) with over 1,300 enrollment locations.
Can my children use the PreCheck lane with me?
Yes: TSA says children 17 and under can join an adult in the PreCheck lane for free.