Security and when to arrive

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.

• Food, water and drinks through security at O'Hare

  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
  • Duty-free liquids from an international flight
  • Water: empty the bottle, then refill
  • Buying a drink before security
  • Buying a drink after the checkpoint
  • What the pages don’t settle
• How early should you get to O'Hare for a 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?
  • Why the checkpoint you pick matters
  • What the airport doesn’t say
  • Sources
• TSA PreCheck and CLEAR at O'Hare: which checkpoints have lanes and 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
  • Where CLEAR also enrolls you in PreCheck
  • What each program costs
• Which security checkpoint should you use at O'Hare?

  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
  • Terminal 3: Checkpoints 6, 7, 7A and 8
  • Terminal 2 and Terminal 5: one checkpoint each
  • When your terminal’s checkpoints are closed
  • What the airport doesn’t say