Updated November 4, 2026

Mobile Passport Control (MPC) app: who can use it, where it works and what CBP still asks

Mobile Passport Control (MPC) is a free CBP app that lets US citizens, green card holders, Canadian B1/B2 visitors and returning Visa Waiver Program travelers with an approved ESTA submit their passport details, photo and customs answers on their phone. According to CBP (Oct 26, 2026), it needs no pre-approval, works at 63 primary sites and lets up to 12 travelers on one device use a dedicated lane before an officer finishes the inspection.

Everything below comes from CBP's Mobile Passport Control, Preclearance, ESTA and customs pages and the CBP Help Center, checked on November 3, 2026.

What is Mobile Passport Control (MPC)?

Mobile Passport Control is a mobile app from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for Apple and Android devices. It lets eligible travelers submit their travel document, a self-photo and their customs declaration answers electronically before they reach the inspection booth.

Using the app is free and does not require pre-approval, a background check, fingerprinting or an enrollment interview. Travelers who submit through MPC do not have to fill out a paper declaration form and can use a designated MPC queue marked with signage in the customs area.

Download only CBP's own Mobile Passport Control app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. CBP announced on 01/19/2022 that beginning Feb. 1, the CBP MPC app is the only authorized application for MPC entry, and third-party apps such as Airside Mobile and Clear MPC are no longer authorized.

MPC speeds up the line, but it does not replace your physical travel documents or your conversation with an officer.

Who can use Mobile Passport Control? Eligibility by traveler type

CBP's Mobile Passport Control page opens the app to four specific groups of travelers. Even when you use the app, you must bring your physical passport or green card to show the officer.

The table below breaks down who qualifies, what you enter in the app, and what you must hand to the CBP officer at the booth.

Rules for LPRs and returning ESTA travelers

If you are a lawful permanent resident or a Visa Waiver Program traveler, check two details before you join the MPC line:

Lawful permanent residents. CBP's Help Center states that you can create your MPC profile by scanning or entering either your passport or your LPR card information. When you enter the MPC queue in the customs area, present your physical LPR card or passport to the CBP officer.

Returning ESTA travelers. CBP lists returning Visa Waiver Program travelers with an approved Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) as eligible for MPC. CBP's ESTA guidance requires an e-Passport (a passport with an embedded electronic chip symbol on the cover) to use the Visa Waiver Program, and notes that an approved ESTA does not guarantee admission. If you are traveling on ESTA, see our guide to ESTA questions on the form and on arrival.

How to use the MPC app step by step (and the 4-hour air window)

MPC works in two phases: setting up your profile before you travel, and submitting your trip details shortly before you reach the CBP booth.

Follow this six-step checklist for your arrival day:

1. Confirm your port of entry supports MPC. Check the airport, preclearance, seaport, land border or general aviation lists below before your trip. If your flight is diverted to an airport that does not use MPC processing, CBP notes you will not be able to use MPC as planned.
2. Download the app and build your profile before you leave. Install the free CBP MPC app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Scan or type in your passport or LPR card details, including your name, gender, date of birth and country of citizenship. The app saves your profile for future trips.
3. Open the app within the submission window. Your MPC submission is active for 4 hours in the air environment and 8 hours in the land environment. Open the app up to 4 hours before landing (or upon arrival at the port or preclearance airport), or up to 8 hours before arriving at a supported pedestrian land border crossing.
4. Select your entry mode and location. Choose how you are entering (air, land, seaport or general aviation) and pick your specific arrival airport, seaport or land port and terminal. At land border crossings, the app also lets eligible travelers apply and pay for a provisional I-94.
5. Answer the CBP inspection questions and take your self-photo. Complete the electronic customs declaration and arrival questions in the app, then take a clear self-photo (selfie) for every person on the submission. Once submitted, the app generates an encrypted Quick Response (QR) code electronic receipt.
6. Join the MPC lane and show your passport and QR receipt. In the customs arrival area, follow the signs for the designated MPC line. Present your physical passport or LPR card along with your phone showing the digital QR receipt to the CBP officer, and take a confirmation photo at the booth for final verification.

Using MPC for family groups and households

You do not need a separate phone for every person in your family, and children do not need their own accounts.

CBP allows you to save and add up to 12 people into a single group profile and submission on one mobile device. A single household can submit one consolidated MPC transaction.

When you submit within the 4-hour air window or 8-hour land window, the app prompts you to take a separate self-photo for every member of your traveling group. In the customs hall, your entire group stays together and approaches the CBP officer at the booth at the same time instead of going up one by one.

What happens at the CBP booth (and what officers still ask)

MPC replaces the paper customs declaration form, not the inspection itself. In its comparison between MPC and Global Entry, CBP notes two mandatory steps at the booth for every MPC traveler:

1. You must talk to a CBP officer in customs.
2. You must take a confirmation photo at the booth for final verification, in addition to the self-photo you took in the app.

For Canadian B1/B2 visitors and returning ESTA travelers especially, CBP's ESTA guidance states that CBP officers determine admissibility upon your arrival. Even in the faster MPC lane, be ready to answer standard inspection questions clearly and have your key trip facts ready.

Our guides to what the CBP officer checks at US arrival and what CBP officers ask at the US border go deeper, and our I-94 travel history guide shows how your entry is recorded. Below are the core topics to prepare before you walk up to the MPC booth:

• Purpose of your trip and length of stay. What it checks: that your visit fits your visa or ESTA category (for example, tourism or business visits for B1/B2 or VWP travelers, not unauthorized employment). How to prepare: know your exact return flight date and the main reason for your visit in one plain sentence.
• Where you are staying. What it checks: that you have a real, verifiable plan in the United States. How to prepare: have the street address and name of your hotel, rental or host ready without having to search through your email at the booth.
• Items to declare (food, agricultural products, currency and merchandise). What it checks: that the electronic answers you submitted in the MPC app are complete and accurate, and that you are not bringing prohibited agricultural items or undeclared dutiable goods. How to prepare: know every food item, plant product, commercial sample or gift in your bags, and remember that marijuana remains illegal under federal law when clearing U.S. customs.
• Time abroad for lawful permanent residents and U.S. citizens. What it checks: for LPRs, that you are maintaining your permanent residence in the United States, and for all returning residents, which countries you visited and what you acquired abroad. How to prepare: know the exact number of days or months you spent outside the U.S. and have your valid LPR card (or expired green card with a valid 24-month USCIS extension receipt notice or ADIT stamp, per CBP's U.S. citizen and LPR guidance) in hand.

Mobile Passport Control vs. Global Entry

Both MPC and Global Entry are CBP options that speed up your arrival, but Global Entry is a formal Trusted Traveler Program with vetting and a fee, while MPC is a free app anyone in an eligible group can download before their flight.

CBP points out that if you do not travel internationally often, pairing free MPC for your U.S. return with TSA PreCheck ($85 or less for 5 years) for domestic departure security is a low-cost alternative to Global Entry ($120 for 5 years). By our own math from CBP's fee table, pairing free MPC with a standalone TSA PreCheck membership ($85 or less) saves at least $35 over five years.

Here is how CBP compares the two programs side by side. Our Global Entry interview guide and Global Entry vs TSA PreCheck guide cover enrolling.

Where is Mobile Passport Control available? All 63 sites and 40 general aviation airports

According to CBP, MPC is available at 63 primary sites: 37 U.S. international airports, 15 Preclearance locations, 4 seaports of entry, 4 land border ports of entry and 3 departure locations. In addition, CBP deployed MPC for pedestrians at select land borders on April 20, 2026, and at 40 General Aviation facilities on September 28, 2026.

With CBP Preclearance, you clear CBP inspection at the foreign airport before boarding your U.S.-bound flight, so you skip CBP and TSA lines when you land in the United States. CBP operates 16 Preclearance locations worldwide across 6 countries (handling more than 22 million travelers in 2025, or nearly 14.6 percent of all commercial air travelers to the U.S.), and 15 of those Preclearance sites support MPC.

Every participating location published by CBP is organized below by category and alphabetical group so you can find your port quickly:

• U.S. International Airports and Territories (A to D): Anchorage Ted Stevens (ANC), Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL), Baltimore Thurgood Marshall (BWI), Boston Logan (BOS), Charlotte Douglas (CLT), Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Cleveland Hopkins (CLE), Cyril E. King St. Thomas (STT) and St. Thomas General Aviation, Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Denver (DEN), Detroit Metropolitan (DTW) and Dulles (IAD).
• U.S. International Airports and Territories (F to M): Fairbanks (FAI), Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood (FLL), Henry E. Rohlsen St. Croix (STX), Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye (HNL), Houston George Bush Intercontinental (IAH), Houston William P. Hobby (HOU), John F. Kennedy (JFK), Kansas City (MCI), Las Vegas Harry Reid (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA) and Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP).
• U.S. International Airports and Territories (N to T): Newark Liberty (EWR), Oakland (OAK), Orlando (MCO), Philadelphia (PHL), Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX), Pittsburgh (PIT), Portland (PDX), Sacramento (SMF), Salt Lake City (SLC), San Diego (SAN), San Francisco (SFO), San Jose (SJC), San Juan (SJU), Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) and Tampa (TPA).
• CBP Preclearance Airports (clear U.S. customs before boarding): Canada: Billy Bishop Toronto City (YTZ), Calgary (YYC), Edmonton (YEG), Halifax Stanfield (YHZ), Montreal Trudeau (YUL), Ottawa (YOW), Toronto Pearson (YYZ), Vancouver (YVR) and Winnipeg James A. Richardson (YWG). Caribbean and Atlantic: Aruba Queen Beatrix (AUA), Bermuda L.F. Wade (BDA) and Nassau Lynden Pindling, Bahamas (NAS). Ireland: Dublin (DUB) and Shannon (SNN). United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi Zayed International (AUH).
• Seaports of Entry (cruise and sea arrivals): Miami Seaport (MSE), Palm Beach Seaport (WPB), Port Everglades Seaport (PEV) and San Juan Seaport (SAJ).
• Land Border Ports of Entry (pedestrian crossings in Washington state, 8-hour submission window): Blaine Peace Arch, Blaine Pacific Highway Port of Entry, Lynden Kenneth G. Ward Port of Entry and Sumas Port of Entry.
• General Aviation Facilities (A to F): Bangor (KBGR), Bellingham (KBLI), Boca Raton (KBCT), Brown Field (KSDM), Brownsville (KBRO), Buffalo Niagara (KBUF), Burlington (KBTV), Calexico (KCXL), Dallas Love Field (KDAL), Dulles (KIAD), El Paso (KELP), Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci (TJIG), Fort Lauderdale Executive (KFXE) and Fort Lauderdale International (KFLL).
• General Aviation Facilities (H to O): Harry Reid Las Vegas (KLAS), King County (KBFI), L.G. Hanscom Field Bedford (KBED), Laredo (KLRD), Los Angeles (KLAX), McAllen Miller (KMFE), Miami (KMIA), Midway (KMDW), Naples Municipal (KAPF), Nogales (KOLS), Opa-Locka (KOPF) and Orlando (KMCO).
• General Aviation Facilities (P to W): President Donald J. Trump International (KDJT), San Antonio (KSAT), San Diego (KSAN), San Juan Luis Munoz Marin (TJSJ), Savannah/Hilton Head (KSAV), Scottsdale (KSDL), St. Lucie County (KFPR), Tamiami Executive (KTMB), Teterboro (KTEB), Tucson (KTUS), Van Nuys (KVNY), Westchester County (KHPN), Wilmington (KILM) and Witham (KSUA).

Preclearance operating hours for MPC travelers

If you are using MPC at a Preclearance airport outside the United States, you must pass through the CBP Preclearance area during its operating hours before boarding your flight. CBP publishes these local operating hours for its Preclearance stations:

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