After you submit an ESTA application, the natural next question is: how do I know it was approved, and how do I confirm it is still valid before I fly? Checking your ESTA status is quick and free on the official government portal — and knowing how to do it protects you from the nasty surprise of being denied boarding for an authorization you assumed was fine.
TL;DR
- Check your ESTA status only on the official CBP portal — never on third-party sites.
- You need your passport number, date of birth, and either your application or passport details.
- Status can be Authorized, Pending, Travel Not Authorized, or Authorization Cancelled.
- Re-check before every trip to confirm the ESTA and passport are both still valid.
- Checking your status is always free; you only pay the one-time application fee.
Where to check your ESTA status
The only legitimate place to check an ESTA is the official CBP ESTA website, operated by US Customs and Border Protection. Many third-party sites offer to “check” your status, but they are not connected to the government system, often charge a fee for nothing, and can put your personal data at risk. Bookmark the official portal and use it directly. For background on how the system works, see our ESTA requirements guide.
What you need to check
To retrieve an individual application status you will need your passport number, your country of citizenship, your date of birth, and your application number if you saved it. If you did not save the application number, you can still retrieve the status with your passport details. Keep these handy — the same details are needed if you ever have to correct a mistake on your application.
What the different statuses mean
The portal shows one of a few clear statuses. Authorization Approved means you are cleared to travel under the Visa Waiver Program. Authorization Pending means a decision is still being processed — usually resolved within 72 hours, as covered in our processing time guide. Travel Not Authorized means your ESTA was not approved and you must instead apply for a visa; our guides on what to do if denied and common rejection reasons explain the next steps. Authorization Cancelled means a previously valid ESTA is no longer usable, often because of a new passport or a change in eligibility.
Quick Facts
| Where to check | Official CBP ESTA portal only |
| Cost to check | Free |
| Details needed | Passport number, DOB, citizenship, (application number) |
| Possible statuses | Approved · Pending · Not Authorized · Cancelled |
| Pending resolves in | Usually within 72 hours |
| When to re-check | Before booking and again before every trip |
⚠️ Beware of look-alike websites
Only the official CBP ESTA portal can show your real status. Sites that ask for extra fees to “check” or “verify” your ESTA are unofficial. Check the web address carefully before entering any personal data.
How to confirm your ESTA is still valid
Beyond the application status, you should confirm two dates before every trip: the ESTA’s own expiry date and your passport’s expiry date. As we explain in our ESTA validity and expiry rules guide, the authorization expires after two years or when the passport expires, whichever comes first. If you have renewed your passport since your ESTA was approved, the ESTA is no longer valid — see reapplying after a new passport.
How to check your ESTA status step by step
- Go directly to the official CBP ESTA portal — type the address rather than clicking unknown links.
- Select the option to check an existing application status.
- Enter your passport number, date of birth, and country of citizenship.
- Add your application number if you saved it for faster retrieval.
- Read the status shown — Approved, Pending, Not Authorized, or Cancelled.
- Note the expiry date and cross-check it against your passport before booking or flying.
If your status is not what you expected
If your status is still Pending close to departure, do not panic — but do not leave it to the last minute either; apply at least 72 hours before travel. If it shows Travel Not Authorized, you cannot travel under the VWP and should review our guide on what to do after a denial and consider a US visa instead. If it shows Cancelled unexpectedly, check whether you changed passports or details, then reapply using our renewal guide.
Checking status for a group or family
If you submitted several applications together, you can check each one individually with that person’s passport details, or use the group retrieval option if you have the group identifier from a family or group submission. Each traveler still receives a separate authorization with its own status, so confirm that every member of your party — including children and infants — shows an approved status before you travel. The official CBP portal is the only place that can return accurate results for any of these.
Why a status can change after approval
An ESTA that was approved can later show as cancelled or invalid. The most common reasons are getting a new passport, a change in your eligibility, or an administrative cancellation by CBP. If your status changes unexpectedly, check first whether your passport or personal details have changed, then reapply if needed using our renewal guide or correct an error with our name mismatch fix. The CBP ESTA FAQ is the authoritative source if a status is unclear.
Protecting yourself from scam sites
A whole industry of unofficial websites exists to charge travelers extra fees for ESTA applications and “status checks” that the government provides for free. These sites are not connected to CBP, may delay or mishandle your application, and put your passport data at risk. Always type the official address yourself, look for the government domain, and never pay a third party simply to view your status. Our requirements guide links only to official resources for exactly this reason.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to check my ESTA status?
Nothing. Checking your status on the official CBP portal is always free. You only ever pay the one-time USD 40 application fee.
What if my status is still ‘Pending’ close to my flight?
Most pending applications resolve within 72 hours. Apply at least three days before travel; if it is still pending, contact the airline and be prepared to wait for a decision.
Can I check someone else’s ESTA?
You can check an application if you have that person’s passport number, date of birth, and citizenship — useful for checking a child’s or travel companion’s status.
What does ‘Travel Not Authorized’ mean?
It means your ESTA was not approved and you cannot travel under the Visa Waiver Program. You would need to apply for a visa instead — see our denial and visa-comparison guides.
When and how often to check
There are three moments when checking your ESTA is genuinely worthwhile. The first is shortly after you apply, to confirm the application moved from pending to approved. The second is when you start booking a trip, so you do not commit to flights and hotels on the strength of an authorization that has quietly expired. The third is in the days just before departure, as a final confirmation that nothing has changed — particularly if you have renewed your passport or updated any personal details since the last check. Building these three checkpoints into your routine costs only a couple of minutes each and removes almost all risk of an authorization surprise at the airport.
Keep your application number from the original approval email, because it makes every future check faster. If you have lost it, you can still retrieve your status with your passport number, date of birth, and citizenship. And remember that the status check and the validity check are slightly different questions: the status tells you whether the application was approved, while the validity depends on the expiry dates of both the ESTA and your passport, as explained in our ESTA validity and expiry rules guide. Checking both together gives you the complete picture before you travel.
One last habit worth forming is to save or screenshot the approval result each time you check, with the date clearly visible. If a carrier or a border officer ever questions your authorization, a recent dated confirmation on your phone resolves the matter quickly. It is a small step, but it turns the free official status check into a piece of evidence you can produce on the spot rather than something you merely remember doing.
Bottom line
Checking your ESTA status is fast, free, and should be done on the official CBP portal only. Confirm your approval after applying, then re-check both the ESTA and passport expiry dates before every US trip. A two-minute check is all that stands between you and the unwelcome surprise of being turned away at the gate. For everything else about applying, start with our ESTA application guide and requirements overview.
