--- title: "Security and when to arrive · ORD Airport Guide" description: "Every ORD guide on security and when to arrive: 4 guides, each answering one question. They include food, water and drinks through security at O'Hare." url: "https://ordairportguide.com/guides/security-and-when-to-arrive/" updated: "2026-10-31" airport: "ORD" type: "guide" --- > Independent guide, not the official ORD website. All pages: https://ordairportguide.com/llms.txt # Security and when to arrive Every ORD guide on security and when to arrive: 4 guides, each answering one question. They include food, water and drinks through security at O'Hare. Updated October 31, 2026 Getting through security at ORD: which checkpoints serve which concourses, when the lines are longest, what the faster lanes are, and how early to arrive for your flight. The security page lists every checkpoint with its published hours. ![The pale terrazzo floor with dark diagonal bands and a grey panel wall in the screening hall of Checkpoint 10 in Terminal 5 at O'Hare.](https://ordairportguide.com/images/ord/t5-checkpoint-10-entrance-v7-800.webp) [Food, water and drinks through security at O'Hare](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/food-water-drinks-through-security-at-ohare/) Food usually stays in your carry-on, liquids follow TSA's quart-bag rule, and empty bottles refill past the checkpoint. Where to buy a drink in each terminal. - [What TSA lets through](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/food-water-drinks-through-security-at-ohare/#what-tsa-lets-through) - [Duty-free liquids from an international flight](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/food-water-drinks-through-security-at-ohare/#duty-free-liquids-from-an-international-flight) - [Water: empty the bottle, then refill](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/food-water-drinks-through-security-at-ohare/#water-empty-the-bottle-then-refill) - [Buying a drink before security](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/food-water-drinks-through-security-at-ohare/#buying-a-drink-before-security) - [Buying a drink after the checkpoint](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/food-water-drinks-through-security-at-ohare/#buying-a-drink-after-the-checkpoint) - [What the pages don’t settle](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/food-water-drinks-through-security-at-ohare/#what-the-pages-dont-settle) ![The dark ceiling with long strip lights above the American Airlines check-in counters and queue lanes in the Terminal 3 hall at O'Hare.](https://ordairportguide.com/images/ord/t3-checkpoint-7a-entrance-v8-800.webp) [How early should you get to O'Hare for a domestic flight?](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/how-early-should-you-get-ohare-domestic-flight/) O'Hare publishes no arrive-by time for domestic flights, only checkpoint hours. Terminal 5's Checkpoint 10 never closes, and the rest close by 11 p.m. - [Which checkpoints are open, and when?](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/how-early-should-you-get-ohare-domestic-flight/#which-checkpoints-are-open-and-when) - [Why the checkpoint you pick matters](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/how-early-should-you-get-ohare-domestic-flight/#why-the-checkpoint-you-pick-matters) - [What the airport doesn’t say](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/how-early-should-you-get-ohare-domestic-flight/#what-the-airport-doesnt-say) - [Sources](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/how-early-should-you-get-ohare-domestic-flight/#sources) ![The orange wall corner and white steel column at a Terminal 1 security checkpoint entrance at O'Hare.](https://ordairportguide.com/images/ord/t2-checkpoint-5-entrance-v7-800.webp) [TSA PreCheck and CLEAR at O'Hare: which checkpoints have lanes and when](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/tsa-precheck-clear-at-ohare-which-lanes-when/) PreCheck lanes run in all four terminals, CLEAR Plus in Terminals 1, 2 and 5. See each checkpoint's hours, the late-evening lane and CLEAR enrollment. - [Choosing a checkpoint by lane](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/tsa-precheck-clear-at-ohare-which-lanes-when/#choosing-a-checkpoint-by-lane) - [Where CLEAR also enrolls you in PreCheck](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/tsa-precheck-clear-at-ohare-which-lanes-when/#where-clear-also-enrolls-you-in-precheck) - [What each program costs](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/tsa-precheck-clear-at-ohare-which-lanes-when/#what-each-program-costs) ![A bench and a white column beside the Terminal 1 security checkpoint entrances at O'Hare.](https://ordairportguide.com/images/ord/t1-checkpoint-entrances-v6-800.webp) [Which security checkpoint should you use at O'Hare?](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/which-security-checkpoint-should-you-use-at-ohare/) Your terminal sets your checkpoints: 1, 2 and 3 in Terminal 1, 5 in Terminal 2, 6, 7, 7A and 8 in Terminal 3, 10 in Terminal 5. Hours and lanes inside. - [Terminal 1: Checkpoints 1, 2 and 3](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/which-security-checkpoint-should-you-use-at-ohare/#terminal-1-checkpoints-1-2-and-3) - [Terminal 3: Checkpoints 6, 7, 7A and 8](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/which-security-checkpoint-should-you-use-at-ohare/#terminal-3-checkpoints-6-7-7a-and-8) - [Terminal 2 and Terminal 5: one checkpoint each](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/which-security-checkpoint-should-you-use-at-ohare/#terminal-2-and-terminal-5-one-checkpoint-each) - [When your terminal’s checkpoints are closed](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/which-security-checkpoint-should-you-use-at-ohare/#when-your-terminals-checkpoints-are-closed) - [What the airport doesn’t say](https://ordairportguide.com/guides/which-security-checkpoint-should-you-use-at-ohare/#what-the-airport-doesnt-say)