I recently wrote about our experience getting a passport for our second son (who is just a few weeks old). In this post, I’d like to discuss the next thing on our “to do” list when it comes to travel — how do TSA PreCheck and Global Entry work when traveling with your little one? The rules here have changed over time, so let me share the latest…
In this post:
Trusted Traveler Programs for children & babies
As any frequent traveler in the United States can attest, there are certain programs that make the travel process easier. These are known as Trusted Traveler Programs (TTP), and include TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, and NEXUS. For those not familiar with these programs:
- TSA PreCheck offers expedited security screening at US airports, whereby you get access to dedicated lanes, and often are subject to less stringent screening (you don’t have to remove your laptop from your bag, or go through the full body scanner)
- Global Entry offers expedited immigration into the United States when arriving from abroad at designated ports by air, land, or sea (see my guides to applying for Global Entry and renewing Global Entry)
- NEXUS offers expedited immigration into the United States and Canada when arriving from abroad at designated ports by air, land, or sea
All of these programs require enrollment, and then your membership is valid for roughly five years (if you enroll in Global Entry or NEXUS, TSA PreCheck is automatically included). What happens when you’re traveling with a child, though? Do they need their own membership, or is traveling with a parent that’s a member enough? Let’s look at the details by program.
Do children & babies need TSA PreCheck?
TSA PreCheck is the most generous program in this regard. Children age 12 or younger can use TSA PreCheck lanes when traveling with a parent or guardian who has TSA PreCheck on their itinerary, even if the child’s boarding pass doesn’t show TSA PreCheck. So there’s no need to actually get your child a TSA PreCheck membership, assuming they fall in that age range.
For children ages 13 to 17, it’s a slightly different story. If they travel on the same reservation as an adult who has TSA PreCheck, then their boarding pass should also show the TSA PreCheck indicator. So they can then use that checkpoint without actually having signed up for the program.
The nuance here is that children ages 12 and younger don’t need the TSA PreCheck indicator on their boarding pass, while children ages 13 to 17 do (and it’s important to be booked on the same reservation).
Do children & babies need Global Entry?
Unlike with TSA PreCheck, children need their own membership in order to enter the US through Global Entry — parents having a membership isn’t sufficient. This applies regardless of a child’s age, so even a newborn would need their own Global Entry membership.
The good news is that nowadays, Global Entry is free for those under the age of 18, as long as at least one of the parents has a Global Entry membership as well. So while you do need to apply, it won’t cost you anything extra.
If applying for Global Entry for a minor, the parent or legal guardian needs to attend the in-person interview (however, only one parent needs to attend, unlike at an appointment to issue a passport, which requires both parents).
If you’re a Global Entry member, there’s a huge incentive to enroll your child in the program ASAP as well, since Global Entry is kind of useless if two parents are members, but a child isn’t, since it’s not like you’re going to send the child through the border alone.
Do children & babies need NEXUS?
In the interest of being thorough, the rules for children are the same for NEXUS as they are for Global Entry. That’s to say that children, regardless of age, need their own NEXUS membership in order to use NEXUS, even if traveling with a parent who is a member.
Much like with Global Entry, there are no enrollment fees for applicants under the age of 18 in conjunction with an adult, so this is something you can apply for at no cost for your kids.
Bottom line
When it comes to the major Trusted Traveler Programs, policies differ as to whether kids need their own membership. Kids 12 or under don’t need their own TSA PreCheck membership if they’re traveling with an adult who has a membership (while children 13 to 17 should automatically get PreCheck if traveling on the same reservation as an adult who is a member).
Meanwhile kids, regardless of age, need their own Global Entry or NEXUS membership, in order to use those lanes when entering the country. The good news is that those memberships don’t cost anything, as long as the account is connected to that of an adult who is also a member.
To parents, what has your experience been when traveling with children and using TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, or NEXUS?
My wife never enroll any GE or TSAPre, but my 2 years old son does have GE. She were able to get to TSAPre lane while only the little one has TSAPre on boarding pass
If an adult with GE gets PreCheck when checking on a PNR, TSA’s default is that all the u18 children on the same PNR as an adult with GE get PreCheck too on the boarding pass.
My GE status rubs off with PreCheck on unrelated kids on my same PNRs.
I have TSA precheck but not Global Entry. I’ve been using the MPC (Mobil Passport Control App) for international travel and I end up in the diplomat lane at U.S. Immigration. It’s been super fast and includes everyone in my family (though they are all adults). I can’t see how Global Entry is any faster.
The MPC lane is not designated as the diplomat lane at most of the MPC-eligible US airports of entry.
I recently went through immigration at SFO. The MPC line probably had at least 75 people. Only 1 person in the GE line. My family (me, wife, and child) breezed through in no more than 5 minutes. Love having GE for all of us.
Wow, it took that long LOL. Usually manage toget through in about 1 minute at SFO, thanks to being first off the first international arrival of day. The longest wait has been about 5 minutes and that's due to CBP signing into their computers first thing in the morning. Either way, no Global Entry complaints from me:)
I've also frequently seen MPC be closed at a variety of airports, even during peak hours. That's only happened to me once with GE in ~15 years of having it. I do think it's a good idea to have both and takes 30 seconds to complete MPC, in case one line is long.
I have precheck. My kid is 13 and joining me on a business trip. I paid for my ticket and used miles for his ticket. The airline linked our tickets together so we could use my status to get seats together. Any idea if the pre check will flow through to his reservation?
I went through a very similar experience with a client just a few weeks ago and in theory no, it won't pass your pre-check to your child. While the records were linked with a back-end note, they were booked separately and they are still technically separate. I suppose YMMV, but in my client's case, the pre-check did not pass to the child.
This entire system seems needlessly complicated. Well from a customer perspective at least. If all children can get global entry for free, what's the need to make them actually apply for them? Why would you not make the approach the exact same where simply being on the same reservation as a parent/sibling/guardian figure who is Global Entry sufficient?
And all of that is before we start questioning if the entire system is kept needlessly...
This entire system seems needlessly complicated. Well from a customer perspective at least. If all children can get global entry for free, what's the need to make them actually apply for them? Why would you not make the approach the exact same where simply being on the same reservation as a parent/sibling/guardian figure who is Global Entry sufficient?
And all of that is before we start questioning if the entire system is kept needlessly complicated and difficult on purpose.
FWIW We regularly had delays using Global Entry with our infant / toddler due to the photo ID not working, once even confusing him with another kid. Stopped being a problem around 4yo.