Is it time to renew your Global Entry? If you applied for Global Entry approximately 4 to 5 years ago, below is a guide with everything you need to know about how to renew your Global Entry including the cost (and how to get it for free), how long it takes and a step by step guide to the Global Entry renewal process.
When Can You Renew Your Global Entry?
You can renew Global Entry up to one (1) year before your Global Entry expiration date.
Renewing your Global Entry early does not shorten the amount of time you have Global Entry. After you renew your Global Entry, five (5) years will be added to your original Global Entry expiration date so there is no reason not to renew early.
Start Renewal Process BEFORE Your Global Entry Expires
This is super important. Make sure to start the Global Entry renewal process BEFORE the expiration date. If you wait to apply for a renewal until after your Global Entry is already expired, you will not have Global Entry while your renewal application is pending (which could take 6 months or longer).
However, if you apply to renew your Global Entry before the expiration date you have a grace period. According to the CBP website, “[i]f you submitted a renewal application before expiration of your current membership, then you can continue to use your benefits until the renewal is finalized.”
When Does My Global Entry Expire?
Global Entry lasts approximately five (5) years depending on your original approval date. The exact Global Entry expiration date is five (5) years after your next birthday following the date you are first approved for Global Entry. Depending on your Global Entry interview date and date of birth, your Global Entry membership will be valid for at least 5 years but could valid almost 6 years after the date you were first approved for Global Entry.
You may not receive any kind of email or notice that your Global Entry is due to expire (at least we did not) so you need to look up your Global Entry expiration date if you have not made a note of it.
Where to Find Your Global Entry Expiration Date
If you don’t recall your Global Entry approval date or lost your Global Entry membership card, you can find your Global Entry expiration date when you log into your Trusted Traveler Program (TTP) account at https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov/. (The Trusted Traveler Program (TTP) website replaced the Global Online Enrollment System (GOES) on October 1, 2017 so references to GOES refer to the older version of the website.) If you have not signed into your GOES account since you first applied for Global Entry you will have to re-register for a login.gov account.
Does Global Entry Renewal Require an Interview?
Maybe. Most people are approved for Global Entry upon renewal without having to schedule an interview but sometimes people are conditionally approved and required to schedule an interview for final approval.
Finding interview availability can be difficult. See related post Scheduling Your Global Entry Interview Faster on how to schedule your Global Entry interview quickly even if there are no appointments for months at your closest enrollment center.
How Long Does It Take to Renew Global Entry?
The amount of time it takes to renew Global Entry varies from person to person. The Global Entry renewal process can take only a few days or many months.
The timing of how long it takes to renew Global Entry depends on how long it takes for: 1) CBP to review and process your application and issue a decision (either denial, final approval or conditional approval) AND 2) you to schedule an interview (if you are conditionally approved).
While you can control the timing for scheduling a Global Entry interview, you can’t change how long it takes to be approved (or conditionally approved). It took me only 5 days to be approved for Global Entry but my sister had to wait almost 10 weeks. According to the CBP, the average processing time is currently averaging 4-6 months but some people have been waiting even longer than that and still have not been conditionally approved. (See related post: How Long Does It Take To Get Global Entry?).
Is There A Fee to Renew Your Global Entry?
There is a non-refundable application fee of $100 to renew your Global Entry (which is the same as the fee to apply for Global Entry for the first time).
However, there are several ways you can get Global Entry for free. There are several charge and credit cards that reimburse you for the Global Entry fee so check to see if you have one of these cards already or if you want to apply for before you pay the Global Entry application fee.
How to Long Does It Take to Apply For Global Entry Renewal?
It took me less than 30 minutes to complete the Global Entry renewal application. The timing depends on whether you have already registered for a login.gov account and how much of your personal information needs to be updated since you initially applied for Global Entry.
How to Renew Your Global Entry (A Step by Step Guide)
To renew your Global Entry visit the Trusted Traveler Program (TTP) website (which replaced GOES) and enter your email address and your password.
Once you are signed in to your TTP Dashboard you will see the Programs you are approved for (in this case Global Entry), your Membership Number/PASSID, your Global Entry expiration date, and the date you can renew your Global Entry membership (1 year before your Global Entry expiration date).
Click on the blue “Renew Membership” button.
You will see a screen that by continuing on to apply for Global Entry you acknowledge this notice of a required background check and interview. (However as mentioned above most people don’t need to interview when renewing Global Entry). Click on the blue “Apply for Global Entry” button.
Since you have filled out at least one CBP Trusted Traveler application online (when you originally applied), most of your renewal application should be pre-populated with the data currently on file.
To renew your Global Entry, review your information on the Final Review page, update your old data, add any missing information and hit next.
You cannot make changes to an application online once it is submitted so check the information is correct.
Below is the information you will need to review in your Global Entry Renewal Application and either update or confirm:
1) Personal Info: Your Profile Info (Name, Date of Birth, City of birth, Country of birth, State/province of birth, E-mail address, Phone number), Identifying Characteristics (Gender, eye color and height), and whether you have used any other names before.
2) Documents: Update or confirm your passport information.
3) Driver’s License: Update or confirm your driver’s license information.
4) Vehicle Info: Answer whether you plan to drive across the border from Mexico to the United States to determine if you should register your vehicle.
5) Address Info.
6) Employment Info. Update or confirm your current and previous employment information.
7) Travel History: Add any countries other than the United States, Canada, and Mexico that you have traveled to in the last 5 years. (Do not include countries you spent less than 24 hours in for a stopover to continue to your destination.)
8) Additional Info. This consists of answering the following Background Questions:
- Have you ever been convicted of a criminal offense in the United States or any other country?
- Have you ever received a waiver of inadmissibility to the U.S. from a U.S. government agency?
- Have you ever been found in violation of customs laws?
- Have you ever been found in violation of immigration laws?
If the answer to any of these question is yes, you might not want apply for Global Entry again because you might not get approved.
9) Final Review and Certify and Pay
Remember to use a credit card that reimburses you for Global Entry if you have one. You have a month to pay but your application will not be reviewed until payment is made so you could pay later if you want to apply for a card that reimburses Global Entry.
Once your fee is paid, you will see a reminder to log in to the Trusted Traveler Program (TTP) website for your application status updates and to schedule an interview if needed. We did not receive any emails when we were approved.
Once your renewal application is processed, you will either be denied, approved or conditional approved. If you are conditionally approved you will be asked to schedule an interview. (See related post How to Schedule Your Global Entry Interview Faster.)
I logged in a few days later and my renewal was approved. As you can see below, five (5) years were added to my Global Entry expiration date:
After Global Entry approval, U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents and Mexican nationals will be mailed a Global Entry card to the mailing address on file. According to the CBP, you should receive your Global Entry membership card 7-10 business days after approval for Global Entry.
To activate your card login again into your Trusted Traveler Program (TTP) account at https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov/. You will see an “Activate Membership Card” option is available on your TTP Website Dashboard page after a card has been issued. Enter the security code from the back of your card and you will see a screen that your card activation was successful.
Please note you don’t need to carry your Global Entry membership card with you to use Global Entry at customs. You only need your Global Entry card for expedited U.S. entry at land and sea ports of entry but you can also use it as a REAL ID instead of a driver’s license or passport.
Has anyone recently renewed Global Entry? How long did it take and did you have to interview?
One other plus for Global Entry is it can be used as a Real ID at US airports.
Good point. Will be handy when the real ID requirements start.
I had to renew mt passport after I got my global entry. What is the best way to add the new passport number to the Global Entry?
You need to sign in to your account and update your passport information. Here is a guide: https://thetravelsisters.com/global-entry-new-passport/
How do you complete employment dates when you are retired?
I put retired as the current info, and added self employed as previous info, used my own mailing address, and put Jan 1994 up to the date I retired.
My Global Entry was set to expire in July 2019. I started the renewal process in Feb. of this year and only just today 5/31/19 was approved. There is a message on the CBP site blaming last year’s government shutdown for any delays. It worked out for me, but my advice is – apply as early as possible for renewals!
I submitted my Global Entry renewal on March 19, 2019 prior to the expiration date of March 31st and it’s still pending review.
Rich, thanks for posting your renewal wait time from Feb – March.
Does anyone else have any recent experience with the renewal wait times?
My husband’s went through in about 2 weeks, and he filed in March for his May expiration date this year. See my update below.
Does renewing global entry automatically renew TSA pre-check? I renewed my global entry 2 weeks before it expired and my TSA pre-check didn’t work after I tried using it (after it was supposed to expire).
Renewing GE I believe should automatically renew TSA pre-check. My TSA pre-check continued to work during the period after GE expired as I had submitted the renewal application prior to the expiration, i.e. my GE expired on 3/31/19 but I renewed on 3/19/19. According to the TTP website, renewal prior to expiration extends the benefits of GE, TSA pre-check etc during the period pending review….Recent posts on this blog also indicate the period for GE and TSA benefits to continue under “pending review” status are now increased from 6 months to 1 year.
I have had Global Entry/SENTRI/TSA Pre since 2009. Renewed in 2014 without a hitch. This time, I went to the new TTP site, and checked off “Renew” for each program. It looks like only my app for SENTRI went through, it’s the only one I was charged for and the only listed as pending on the dashboard. I do NOT have a blue “Renew” button on my dashboard anymore.
Also tried to renew my daughter’s, and whenever I try to enter her passport info, the site freezes, I cannot even progress.
Anyone else having issues with the new TTP system?
Anyone else not surprised given the current state of the federal government?
UPDATE: I threw myself on the mercy of the call center gods. There is a 202 area code number, which you can’t find on the TTP website unless you submit an email requesting help (which they won’t answer anyway). I waited on hold 45 minutes, but once I got through the rep was super helpful. Basically I told him to clear the decks -cancel everything out, refunds be damned, so I could start over. He did that and told me to wait a few hours before trying again, which I did and everything seems to be on track as Pending status for GE renewal.
BTW, there was a big hack of that system this weekend, and I suspect that I was actually ON the site while it was being hacked, due to the crazy flakiness I was encountering. So be warned – millions of identities may have been compromised, and DHS has no intentions of letting anyone know if theirs was. Stay on top of your credit reports, people!
I will post here when our renewals get approved. Good luck everyone!
Would you be kind enough to share that number. I submitted my renewal on April 4 and it still says pending review. It expired on June 3.
not sure, but try 202-325-8000
If it takes 15 minutes to work the menus to get on the hold queue, it’s the right number…
Just got this via email from CBP/TTP:
“The problem you are experiencing may be a known issue with renewal applications that we are working diligently with our IT team to resolve. As a temporary workaround, please cancel your renewal application and start over. When you first log into your account, below the button that says “Continue Application” there is another button that says “Cancel Application”. Click “Cancel Application” and confirm the cancellation when the pop-up asks if you are sure. Then, proceed to click the Renew Membership button on your existing or expired membership. Once these steps are followed, you should be able to complete your application without further issue.
Also please note: If you submit a renewal application on or after April 17, 2019 and before your current membership expires, then you can continue to use your benefits up to 1 year past the expiration date until the renewal is finalized. We recommend you print out a copy of your TTP Dashboard showing that the renewal is pending to show a CBP Officer, if requested.”
Laura F thanks for your post on the renewal issue. My current membership expired on 3/31/19 but I submitted renewal on 3/19/19, so my benefits are still good pending renewal approval. However, if I were to “Cancel Application” now, my Global Entry benefits would cease…So I’m not sure what to do. Guess I’ll try emailing and calling the TTP. Appreciate the info you posted.
Unexpected good news! My Global Entry renewal was just APPROVED! Took 3 months….March 19, 2019 to June 21, 2019. Long wait but happy it finally came through…
Yeay, congrats!
Congrats, Lisa!
I only had to delete what I had done because of glitches and bugs that were making it impossible. If anyone has the app posted as “Pending review” on the TTP site, no worries, it means they got it.
ALSO – I wanted to share the email I got due to one new fact: that you can use benefits for 1 year past expiration, previously it was 6 months, so this is good news.
Further update: My daughter already received her renewed GE card in the mail, which I submitted the same day as mine, June 12 – so less than 2 weeks. Mine is still posted as “pending review”. Ugh.
My GE expired on 5/20/2019. I reapplied on 04/20/2019 and as of 07/16/2019, I’m still waiting for conditional approval.
Does the application list “pending review”? That indicates it was received and is in the GE loop….
Yes, it’s in the loop
Unfortunately I didn’t realize my Global Entry expired until I had two trips in a row without TSA Precheck. I reapplied a couple months ago and my application is still pending review. My kids’ membership hadn’t expired yet so we reapplied for them and theirs were approved within 3 weeks or so without an interview.
I too did not realize my Global Entry had expired until I had flown a couple trips without TSA precheck. I renewed on June 23rd as soon as I found out it had expired. As of today, November 23rd, I am still in pending review. I know we made a mistake of not renewing prior to expiration, but come on, we have already been vetted 5 years ago. What’s the hold up other than just punishment?
My GE membership was scheduled to expire on my birthday next July. So the day after my birthday this year I submitted my renewal application.
Just four days later I received an e-mail from the TTP that there was a change of status. Logging on I found that my membership had been renewed for another five years to 2025!
How much is it to renew?
$100. However there are ways to get Global Entry for free: https://thetravelsisters.com/how-to-get-tsa-precheck-or-global-entry-for-free/
I completely forgot to renew my Global Entry and it expired at the beginning of May. I applied in the middle of May and as we’re approaching the end of September it still hasn’t been approved. This is ridiculous. I don’t care how backed up they are – 4 months is just stupid.
Here is what happened to me. My global entry expired and as I was renewing and not paying strict attention I signed up for expeditor for another $149. Expensive but worth it I received my new global entry in three weeks.
I applied in April and just got renewed. I ended up contacting my congressperson’s office. The renewal went through couple of weeks later. Don’t know if the call helped, but it couldn’t have hurt. I found out that my congressperson had a staffer assigned to handle Global Entry issues.
Update with relevant data points:
Husband, daughter and I applied for renewal June 12, 2019.
Daughter got new card in mail within 5 biz days.
Husband got new card in mail within 10 biz days.
I AM ON DAY 109, still waiting.
Tried to call to escalate, but got the message “We are sorry we cannot answer your call at this time. Goodbye.” And call cut off on multiple tries.
From what I can tell from other forums, there are two queues: fast and slow. They appear to be randomly assigned. Fast people are getting immediate renewals/no interview required. Slow people are waiting about 136 days average, with about half of those having to go for an interview.
Most interview centers do not have available appointments for the foreseeable future. Entry on Arrival is doable, but only if the center you fly into from outside the US is open when you arrive, many have cut hours/staff or are closed altogether.
It’s clear this is just meant to discourage further renewals.
My global entry expired two weeks after recent birthday. Do I have to start from scratch?
It is the same amount of work whether your Global Entry expired or not in that you have to apply for Global Entry again either way every time you renew. However because your Global Entry expired you will not have Global Entry until you are approved which could take months.
Mine expired in January but I didn’t realize it. Once I found out I immediately renewed online. That was June 23, 2019. Still waiting in “pending purgatory” and figure I will be for some time to come since they must be throwing the expired applications into the “we’ll get to it when we feel like it” bin.
I had applied for renewal pre-expiry on June 12, and just got approved 170 days later, so you are a minimum of about 2 weeks out from possible conditional approval. For sure you’ll have to go to an interview. You’ll find that there are no appointments anywhere, so plan on doing Entry on Arrival the next time you fly to the US from another country. Check ahead of time to be sure the CBP office will be open when you arrive. Good luck.
Yes – from scratch and because it expired, you will end up in the “long queue”. There are 2 paths – some people get reapproved in 3-5 days, some of us are taking months.
Data points: Applied for renewal in June, 5 months ahead of expiration, still waiting (141 days so far). Hubby and daughter also applied same time, but only a couple of months before theirs expired, and both got new cards in less than a week.
I have, since day 100, tried to call the CBP hotline to try to find out why mine is delayed, but you can’t get through. At all. The line cuts off before you can even make a menu selection. So I’ve given up trying. The longest wait I am aware of right now is 156 days (for someone who applied prior to expiration), your mileage may vary.
And because it expired, yes, you will lose all benefits til you get approved again. Those who apply before expiration get a 1 year extension.
Also, plan on having to re-interview, which has also become a problem as few appointments are available. Many are opting to do interviews as they arrive from an international flight, so if you have time at a big airport, that will be the best way – just go to the GE line and tell them you are conditionally approved and in need of an interview and they’ll do it then. N.B. – you have to have the notification that you are conditionally approved and need to interview.
In general, what we’re seeing is random attacks by bureaucracy, as it seems in every family that is trying to renew at least one person gets singled out for a long wait followed by another long wait to get an interview. There’s no rhyme or reason that anyone can discern.
So good luck to you and all on here. In terms government people will understand, this process is now FUBAR.
Just checking in with an update.
Day 150 of waiting for second non-expired renewal approval.
I have seen 160 days as the new “record” this week.
Calls to CBP are not going through and you either get a “Sorry we cannot serve you at this time” message or the call just cuts off. One person who did get through was told not to even try before 6 months has passed.
Seems to be about 35% of renewals are in the long queue, and of those, about 40% seem to require re-interview.
I am having difficulty using your link under “how long does it take to apply for global entry renewal”. I get a message that it is not a valid page There is some info there, but the log in (I need to reregister) doesn’t work. I have tried calling and e mailed CPB with no success and am getting frustrated. My GE card expires in June 2020 so I would like to get the process moving. Can you tell me why the link isn’t working? Thankjs.
I am on Day 164 of Pending Review, having applied in June, 5 months prior to expiration. The new record I have seen elsewhere is 171 days. It has become nearly impossible to get through to them on the phone, however a few people who have gotten through were told to not even bother asking until at least 6 months has passed. Booking an interview if required has also become impossible, it is better to do Entry on Arrival (only after an international flight) if you can, or if you find yourself in DC, go to the Reagan Building, they’re taking walk-ins there.
APPROVED! Day 170
No interview required
Was processed thru Dulles Airport CBP
Yay!
congrats!!!
Hi, both my husband and I applied for a renewal yesterday and to our surprise this morning we received an email saying we each had been approved! Boy was I relieved!!
Thanks for the helpful information!!
Kathy M