DCA Security Wait Times

TSA checkpoint lines at Ronald Reagan Washington National, by day and hour.

Right now

Live · updated 6:20 PM local time

TSA wait this hour
Up to 6 min Friday, 6:20 PM local time
Next few hours
  • 7 PMUp to 5 min
  • 8 PMUp to 3 min
  • 9 PMUp to 5 min

Best time to go through security at DCA

Between 5 AM and 10 PM, the security wait at DCA can reach 25 minutes at its busiest, on Thursdays around 11 AM, and stays within 1 minutes at the quietest hour.

Wait by day and hour

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SunSunday, 4 AM: up to 9 minSunday, 5 AM: up to 9 minSunday, 6 AM: up to 9 minSunday, 7 AM: up to 9 minSunday, 8 AM: up to 7 minSunday, 9 AM: up to 7 minSunday, 10 AM: up to 9 minSunday, 11 AM: up to 9 minSunday, 12 PM: up to 9 minSunday, 1 PM: up to 9 minSunday, 2 PM: up to 8 minSunday, 3 PM: up to 9 minSunday, 4 PM: up to 9 minSunday, 5 PM: up to 17 minSunday, 6 PM: up to 6 minSunday, 7 PM: up to 5 minSunday, 8 PM: up to 1 minSunday, 9 PM: up to 1 minSunday, 10 PM: up to 1 minSunday, 11 PM: up to 1 min
MonMonday, 4 AM: up to 9 minMonday, 5 AM: up to 6 minMonday, 6 AM: up to 8 minMonday, 7 AM: up to 9 minMonday, 8 AM: up to 6 minMonday, 9 AM: up to 6 minMonday, 10 AM: up to 8 minMonday, 11 AM: up to 10 minMonday, 12 PM: up to 8 minMonday, 1 PM: up to 9 minMonday, 2 PM: up to 9 minMonday, 3 PM: up to 14 minMonday, 4 PM: up to 7 minMonday, 5 PM: up to 7 minMonday, 6 PM: up to 7 minMonday, 7 PM: up to 3 minMonday, 8 PM: up to 1 minMonday, 9 PM: up to 1 minMonday, 10 PM: up to 1 minMonday, 11 PM: up to 1 min
TueTuesday, 4 AM: up to 9 minTuesday, 5 AM: up to 5 minTuesday, 6 AM: up to 7 minTuesday, 7 AM: up to 7 minTuesday, 8 AM: up to 5 minTuesday, 9 AM: up to 7 minTuesday, 10 AM: up to 9 minTuesday, 11 AM: up to 6 minTuesday, 12 PM: up to 9 minTuesday, 1 PM: up to 9 minTuesday, 2 PM: up to 9 minTuesday, 3 PM: up to 8 minTuesday, 4 PM: up to 9 minTuesday, 5 PM: up to 7 minTuesday, 6 PM: up to 6 minTuesday, 7 PM: up to 5 minTuesday, 8 PM: up to 3 minTuesday, 9 PM: up to 3 minTuesday, 10 PM: up to 1 minTuesday, 11 PM: up to 1 min
WedWednesday, 4 AM: up to 9 minWednesday, 5 AM: up to 9 minWednesday, 6 AM: up to 9 minWednesday, 7 AM: up to 7 minWednesday, 8 AM: up to 5 minWednesday, 9 AM: up to 6 minWednesday, 10 AM: up to 8 minWednesday, 11 AM: up to 8 minWednesday, 12 PM: up to 9 minWednesday, 1 PM: up to 6 minWednesday, 2 PM: up to 7 minWednesday, 3 PM: up to 7 minWednesday, 4 PM: up to 8 minWednesday, 5 PM: up to 8 minWednesday, 6 PM: up to 5 minWednesday, 7 PM: up to 6 minWednesday, 8 PM: up to 2 minWednesday, 9 PM: up to 2 minWednesday, 10 PM: up to 1 minWednesday, 11 PM: up to 1 min
ThuThursday, 4 AM: up to 13 minThursday, 5 AM: up to 20 minThursday, 6 AM: up to 14 minThursday, 7 AM: up to 19 minThursday, 8 AM: up to 7 minThursday, 9 AM: up to 9 minThursday, 10 AM: up to 9 minThursday, 11 AM: up to 25 minThursday, 12 PM: up to 9 minThursday, 1 PM: up to 9 minThursday, 2 PM: up to 12 minThursday, 3 PM: up to 9 minThursday, 4 PM: up to 7 minThursday, 5 PM: up to 8 minThursday, 6 PM: up to 6 minThursday, 7 PM: up to 5 minThursday, 8 PM: up to 5 minThursday, 9 PM: up to 1 minThursday, 10 PM: up to 1 minThursday, 11 PM: no wait recorded
FriFriday, 4 AM: up to 9 minFriday, 5 AM: up to 16 minFriday, 6 AM: up to 9 minFriday, 7 AM: up to 9 minFriday, 8 AM: up to 9 minFriday, 9 AM: up to 9 minFriday, 10 AM: up to 9 minFriday, 11 AM: up to 9 minFriday, 12 PM: up to 8 minFriday, 1 PM: up to 8 minFriday, 2 PM: up to 8 minFriday, 3 PM: up to 10 minFriday, 4 PM: up to 9 minFriday, 5 PM: up to 7 minFriday, 6 PM: up to 6 minFriday, 7 PM: up to 5 minFriday, 8 PM: up to 3 minFriday, 9 PM: up to 5 minFriday, 10 PM: up to 1 minFriday, 11 PM: up to 1 min
SatSaturday, 4 AM: up to 9 minSaturday, 5 AM: up to 9 minSaturday, 6 AM: up to 9 minSaturday, 7 AM: up to 9 minSaturday, 8 AM: up to 8 minSaturday, 9 AM: up to 9 minSaturday, 10 AM: up to 6 minSaturday, 11 AM: up to 7 minSaturday, 12 PM: up to 9 minSaturday, 1 PM: up to 9 minSaturday, 2 PM: up to 7 minSaturday, 3 PM: up to 6 minSaturday, 4 PM: up to 6 minSaturday, 5 PM: up to 6 minSaturday, 6 PM: up to 4 minSaturday, 7 PM: up to 4 minSaturday, 8 PM: up to 1 minSaturday, 9 PM: up to 1 minSaturday, 10 PM: up to 1 minSaturday, 11 PM: no wait recorded

Under 10 min 10–20 20–30 30+

From official TSA wait times: the longest standard-lane wait in each hour, in local time.

The quietest and busiest hours, by day

DayQuietest hourBusiest hour
Sunday8 PM · Up to 1 min5 PM · Up to 17 min
Monday8 PM · Up to 1 min3 PM · Up to 14 min
Tuesday8 PM · Up to 3 min10 AM · Up to 9 min
Wednesday8 PM · Up to 2 min5 AM · Up to 9 min
Thursday9 PM · Up to 1 min11 AM · Up to 25 min
Friday Today8 PM · Up to 3 min5 AM · Up to 16 min
Saturday8 PM · Up to 1 min5 AM · Up to 9 min

Between 5 AM and 10 PM, local time, from official TSA wait times.

DCA security questions, answered.

What's the best time to go through security at DCA?

Security lines at DCA are usually shortest around 9 PM and longest around 5 AM. Saturday tends to be the quietest day, and Thursday the busiest.

When is the TSA line longest at DCA?

Waits peak on Thursdays around 11 AM, when they can reach 25 minutes. Across the week, 5 AM is usually the busiest hour.

How early should I get to DCA?

Airlines commonly recommend arriving about 2 hours before a domestic flight and 3 hours before an international one. At DCA, the security wait can reach 25 minutes at the busiest times between 5 AM and 10 PM, so leave extra time around 5 AM, especially on Thursdays.

How long is the TSA line at DCA right now?

TSA’s figures put the wait at up to 6 minutes at this hour on Fridays (as of 6:20 PM local time).

Can I see TSA PreCheck and CLEAR wait times for DCA?

Yes, in the Flying app. It shows typical security waits for the day and hour you fly, including TSA PreCheck and CLEAR lines, and live waits at select major airports, so you can plan around the actual line.

Where do these wait times come from?

Waits by day and hour come from official TSA wait times: the longest standard-lane wait TSA reports for each hour, in DCA local time. Live waits come from the airport or from traveler reports, where available.

DCA airport statusDelays, FAA advisories, weather, and live traffic Security wait times at other US airportsTSA waits right now at US airports

Know when to leave for the airport.

Flying shows the security wait for the day and hour you fly, including TSA PreCheck and CLEAR lines, and tells you the moment your flight is delayed or your gate changes.

Download on the App Store