On-The-Spot TSA PreCheck Enrollment

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) just wrapped up a pilot program that allows travelers to enroll on the spot in the TSA PreCheck expedited airport security clearing program. See how this program measures up to other. This new process skips the part where you have to visit an enrollment center. If deemed successful, the program may be expanded to other airports across the country.

The pilot program ran for several weeks in September at Baltimore Washington International-Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), where TSA agents used special digital tablets that can capture and save fingerprints and verify a person’s identity. Agents were set up at one of the airport’s checkpoints immediately after travelers passed through the security screening.

PreCheck membership costs $85 for five years and allows vetted travelers to use a designated security line, which tends to move faster than the normal lines. They can also leave on their shoes, coats and belts and leave laptops and eligible liquids in their bags. TSA PreCheck is included in the $100 membership for Global Entry. You can see here the list of credit cards that get you these programs for free.

The TSA is hoping that tablet-enabled enrollment will increase the number of travelers who might not have otherwise enrolled in PreCheck. On-the-spot enrollment removes a significant barrier to the sign-up process.

Enrollment in PreCheck began in 2013 and peaked in 2016 at 2.2 million new enrollees, falling far short of TSA’s projected five million new members per year. There are currently more than 8.5 million PreCheck members, which is only about a third of the TSA’s previous projection of 25 million enrollments, Forbes reports.