TSA PreCheck and Global Entry During Government Shutdowns: What Travelers Should Know

Key Points

• Government shutdowns typically halt new TSA PreCheck and Global Entry enrollment appointments, but existing memberships keep working at airports and borders.
• Online Global Entry renewals usually continue with delays; in-person interviews for new applicants and flagged renewals are the main bottleneck.
• If you have an upcoming international trip, apply early, keep documents ready, and have a backup plan like CLEAR or Mobile Passport Control.

Introduction

Government shutdowns happen, and when they do, the trusted traveler programs many of us depend on get caught in the middle. If you have a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry appointment scheduled during a shutdown, you may find it canceled with little notice. If you are already enrolled, you can usually keep using your benefits as if nothing changed. The difference between those two outcomes drives most of the confusion travelers run into during a shutdown. This guide explains, as of April 2026, how PreCheck and Global Entry actually behave when the government is closed, what to do if you are mid-application, and which alternatives can hold you over.

Quick Answer

During a government shutdown, new TSA PreCheck and Global Entry enrollments are usually paused because the staff who run interviews are furloughed, but existing memberships continue to work normally. Your Known Traveler Number stays valid, expedited lanes stay open, and Global Entry kiosks keep operating. The main risk is timing: if your appointment falls during the shutdown, expect to reschedule, and expect a backlog afterward.

Why Trusted Traveler Programs Get Disrupted

TSA PreCheck and Global Entry sit on different sides of the same federal house. PreCheck is run by the Transportation Security Administration, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security. Global Entry is run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, also under DHS. NEXUS and SENTRI sit under CBP as well.

When Congress fails to pass a funding bill, agencies like DHS split staff into two buckets: essential employees who keep working, often without pay, and non-essential employees who get furloughed. Frontline TSA officers and CBP officers at the airport and border are essential. The administrative side, including enrollment center staff and application processors, often is not.

That split is why your boarding pass still gets a TSA PreCheck stamp during a shutdown but the enrollment center down the road is locked. The lanes stay open because security is essential. The interviews stop because new enrollments are not.

What Stops During a Shutdown

Based on what happened during the 35-day shutdown that ran from late 2018 into early 2019, and shorter disruptions since, here is what travelers can typically expect to be paused:

• New enrollment appointments at PreCheck, Global Entry, NEXUS, and SENTRI enrollment centers.
• Interview scheduling for first-time applicants.
• In-person renewal interviews for members flagged for additional review.
• Customer service phone lines and email support for application questions.
• Active processing of new online applications, including background checks.

That last one matters more than people realize. Even if you submit an online application during a shutdown, the application can sit in the queue without movement until staff come back. Your payment goes through, but your status will not change for weeks.

What Keeps Working

The good news is that the parts of the system most travelers actually use day to day usually keep running:

• TSA PreCheck lanes at airport security checkpoints.
• Global Entry kiosks at international airport arrivals.
• NEXUS and SENTRI lanes at land borders.
• Mobile Passport Control, the free CBP app for U.S. citizens and Canadian visitors.
• Any active membership with a valid expiration date.

Your Known Traveler Number does not expire because the government is closed. If your KTN is in your airline profile, it should still print on your boarding pass. If it is missing, add it back manually before checking in.

If you already have Global Entry, you can keep clearing customs at the kiosk. If you already have PreCheck, you can keep walking the shorter line. The shutdown does not retroactively suspend benefits you already paid for.

If You Have an Appointment Scheduled

Most enrollment centers send cancellation emails when a shutdown starts, but the timing has been inconsistent in past shutdowns. Some travelers got hours of notice. Others showed up to a locked door. Until you have a confirmed reschedule, treat any appointment during a shutdown as suspended.

Here is how it generally works once funding is restored:

1. Your application stays in the system. You do not have to reapply.
2. Your application fee is not refunded. The payment carries over to your rescheduled appointment.
3. You will need to rebook your interview, usually through the same scheduling portal you used originally.
4. Slots fill quickly in the first week back. Check the system at off hours, including early morning and late evening.
5. If your travel is imminent, mention it when scheduling. Some enrollment centers offer expedited slots for travelers with confirmed international trips.

Set a reminder to check the scheduler daily during the first two weeks after the shutdown ends. The 2018 to 2019 backlog took roughly two months to clear at major enrollment centers in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco. Smaller cities recovered faster.

How Renewals Are Handled

Renewals split into two paths: streamlined online and in-person interview. Which one you fall into changes how a shutdown affects you.

Online Global Entry renewals. Most members are eligible for online renewal after the first cycle. The application and document review still happen on the CBP side, so processing will slow down during a shutdown, but you do not need an interview. Submit on time and expect delays, not denials.

In-person Global Entry renewals. If your renewal is flagged for additional review, perhaps because of a name change, address change, or border incident, you will be back in the in-person queue with new applicants. That queue is what stops during a shutdown.

TSA PreCheck renewals. TSA offers an online renewal option for many members, but a portion still need an in-person visit, particularly first-time renewals or members with changes to their documents. If your in-person renewal lands during a shutdown, you may temporarily lose PreCheck access until you can complete the renewal.

Grace periods. TSA and CBP have offered grace periods in some past shutdowns, allowing slightly expired memberships to continue working until renewal could be completed. This has not been consistent. Do not assume a grace period will be in place. If your membership is close to expiring, renew as early as the 12-month renewal window allows so you have buffer.

Credit Card Application Fee Credits Still Apply

Several premium travel cards reimburse the $100 Global Entry application fee or the $85 TSA PreCheck application fee as a statement credit, generally once every four years. As of April 2026, that list includes the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the American Express Platinum (which now lets cardholders choose between Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, and a NEXUS option per the recent program update), the Capital One Venture X, the Citi Strata Elite (the successor to Citi Prestige in the U.S. market), and a handful of Bank of America premium products including the Premium Rewards Elite. Card lineups change, so confirm the credit on your specific card before counting on it.

These credits are processed by your card issuer, not by DHS, so a shutdown does not stop them. If you submit an application and pay the fee during a shutdown, your statement credit will still post on the issuer's normal cycle. The catch is that the application itself will sit in limbo until enrollment resumes. You are essentially paying now to hold a place in line.

That can still make sense in two situations. First, if your card's annual fee comes up soon and you want to use the credit before the renewal cycle resets. Second, if you plan to apply anyway and you would rather be in the queue when slots open back up than wait until you can schedule an interview.

Alternatives While You Wait

If your shutdown timing is bad and you have travel coming up, you have a few options that operate independently of DHS enrollment centers.

CLEAR Plus. CLEAR uses biometric verification to move you to the front of the standard security line at participating airports. It is a private service, so it is unaffected by federal shutdowns. Pricing as of April 2026 is $209 per year for an individual membership, with discounted rates for Delta SkyMiles members and select American Express cardholders. Family members can be added at a reduced rate. CLEAR is the fastest stand-in for PreCheck if your home airport supports it.

Mobile Passport Control. This is a free CBP app that lets U.S. citizens and Canadian visitors submit passport and customs information in advance, then use a dedicated lane on arrival. It is not as fast as Global Entry, but it is meaningfully faster than the standard line, and it keeps working during shutdowns because the underlying CBP infrastructure stays online.

Reserved security time slots. Several major U.S. airports, including JFK, LAX, ORD, and SEA, offer free reserved entry into the standard security line through programs like CLEAR's Reserve, SecurityGate, or airport-specific tools. You pick a 15-minute window and walk up at your slot time. Useful for non-PreCheck travelers who want some predictability.

Arrive earlier. Not glamorous, but if you typically rely on PreCheck to make a tight connection, build in an extra 30 to 45 minutes during a shutdown window. Standard lines do not necessarily get longer because of a shutdown, but you lose the time savings you usually count on.

Historical Context: How Past Shutdowns Played Out

The 35-day shutdown from December 2018 to January 2019 is the longest on record and the clearest example of what travelers should expect from a prolonged closure. Enrollment centers were closed for the duration. Online applications continued to be accepted but sat unprocessed. CBP and TSA stopped scheduling interviews and stopped issuing new memberships.

Once the shutdown ended, recovery took weeks. Major-market enrollment centers needed close to two months to clear the canceled-appointment backlog. CBP rolled out a few temporary measures to help, including extended hours at high-demand locations and expanded use of Enrollment on Arrival, a program that lets approved Global Entry applicants complete their interview in the customs hall when they return from an international trip.

Shorter shutdowns, like the brief funding lapses in 2018 and 2023, caused less damage because enrollment centers were closed for days rather than weeks. Even so, a one-week disruption can push hundreds of appointments into the rescheduling queue.

The pattern repeats: lanes stay open, enrollments stop, and the recovery period is longer than the shutdown itself.

What to Do If a Shutdown Is Looming

If political signals point toward a possible shutdown and you are mid-application, take a few steps now that will save you time later:

1. Submit your online application if you have not already. Even if processing pauses, your file is in the queue.
2. Gather your documents before the shutdown hits. Passport, proof of residence, immigration paperwork if relevant, and a second form of ID. Documents in hand make eventual interviews quick.
3. Identify two or three enrollment centers near you, not just the closest one. Backup locations sometimes have shorter post-shutdown waits.
4. Check whether your destination supports Enrollment on Arrival. If you have an international trip on the calendar, this can be the fastest path to completing Global Entry.
5. If your card offers an application fee credit and your card year is ending soon, decide whether to use it before the cycle resets or wait until enrollment resumes.

If you are already enrolled, the main thing to do is confirm your KTN is on every reservation. Airlines occasionally drop the field during profile changes. Verify before each trip.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Assuming a grace period covers an expired membership. Past shutdowns have included grace periods inconsistently. Plan to renew early instead of relying on one.
2. Waiting to submit an online application until the shutdown ends. Submitting earlier puts you ahead of applicants who wait. Background processing may be paused, but your place in line is not.
3. Cancelling and rebooking your appointment from scratch. Your existing application stays valid. You only need to rebook the interview slot.
4. Letting CLEAR or another paid alternative auto-renew without thinking. If you only signed up because of a shutdown and your trusted traveler status is back, decide whether to keep it.
5. Forgetting that the credit card application fee credit is per program cycle, usually four years. If you triggered the credit and the application stalled, you still consumed the credit window.

FAQ

Can I still use TSA PreCheck during a government shutdown?

Yes. Existing PreCheck and Global Entry memberships continue to work at airports and customs during a shutdown. Your Known Traveler Number stays active, and the lanes themselves stay open because security and customs officers are essential staff.

What happens to my Global Entry application if my interview is canceled?

Your application stays active and your fee is not refunded. Once enrollment centers reopen, you reschedule the interview through the same portal. Expect a backlog at major centers; smaller cities tend to recover faster.

Will my membership expire during a shutdown?

Memberships expire on their printed date regardless of a shutdown. TSA and CBP have offered grace periods in some past closures, but it has not been consistent. The safer move is to renew early when your 12-month renewal window opens.

Can I get a refund if my appointment is canceled?

Application fees are generally not refundable. The payment carries over to your rescheduled appointment instead. Contact the program directly only if you decide not to continue with the application at all.

Does the shutdown affect CLEAR?

No. CLEAR is a private service and operates independently of federal funding. Mobile Passport Control also continues to work during shutdowns because the CBP infrastructure that supports it stays online.

Conclusion

A government shutdown is frustrating if you are mid-application for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, but it is rarely a crisis if you are already enrolled. Existing memberships keep working, lanes stay open, and the inconvenience is concentrated on new enrollments and in-person interviews. The best preparation is to apply early, keep your documents ready, renew on the front end of your renewal window, and have a backup like CLEAR or Mobile Passport Control if your travel will not wait. Once funding returns, expect a backlog at major enrollment centers and check the scheduling portal daily to grab a slot.

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