How to check your ESTA status
Check it on the official CBP site, esta.cbp.dhs.gov, under “Check ESTA Status”. It is free, and no third party can look it up for you any faster.
What you need
If you have your application number:
- Application number
- Passport number
- Date of birth
If you have lost the application number, there is a retrieval option that uses:
- Passport number
- Passport issuing country
- Date of birth
- Passport issue and expiry dates
So a lost application number is an inconvenience, not a problem.
What the three responses mean
Authorization Approved. You are cleared to board. Nothing to print — it is linked electronically to your passport and the airline checks it automatically. Note the expiry date while you are looking.
Authorization Pending. Under review. Most resolve within 72 hours. Do not submit a second application: it costs another $40.27 and does not speed anything up. If departure is close, contact the CBP ESTA help desk.
Travel Not Authorized. Refused, with no reason given. You are charged only the $4.00 processing portion. See what to do next — the usual route is a B1/B2 visa.
Checking for a group
If you applied as a group, you can look up the whole group with the group ID. Each traveller still has their own individual authorization and their own status.
Things worth checking at the same time
The expiry date. Two years from approval, or your passport expiry, whichever comes first.
That the passport number matches the passport you will actually travel on. If you have renewed your passport since applying, the authorization is void and you need a new one — this is the single most common reason people are turned away at check-in with an “approved” ESTA.
That your name matches. If it does not, that is worth fixing before you get to the airport.
Do not pay anyone to check it for you
Some sites offer a paid “status check”. It is free on the official site and takes about a minute. Anyone charging for it is selling you something you already have.
We do not offer this either, for the same reason — it is not a service, it is a form.
If your status is not what you expect
Approved but the airline cannot find it. Almost always a passport mismatch: you have renewed since applying, or a digit was mistyped. Check the number against the machine-readable zone on the photo page.
Approved but expired. Reapply. There is no renewal — see ESTA renewal.
Pending for more than 72 hours. Contact the CBP help desk directly. Do not reapply.