SFO Security Wait Times

TSA checkpoint lines at San Francisco Intl., by day and hour.

Right now

Live · updated 3:21 PM local time

TSA wait this hour
Up to 9 min Friday, 3:21 PM local time
Next few hours
  • 4 PMUp to 9 min
  • 5 PMUp to 9 min
  • 6 PMUp to 9 min

Best time to go through security at SFO

Between 5 AM and 10 PM, the security wait at SFO can reach 19 minutes at its busiest, on Mondays around 10 AM, and stays within 5 minutes at the quietest hour.

Wait by day and hour

6a9a12p3p6p9p
SunSunday, 4 AM: up to 9 minSunday, 5 AM: up to 9 minSunday, 6 AM: up to 8 minSunday, 7 AM: up to 9 minSunday, 8 AM: up to 14 minSunday, 9 AM: up to 9 minSunday, 10 AM: up to 9 minSunday, 11 AM: up to 8 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 8 minSunday, 5 PM: up to 9 minSunday, 6 PM: up to 9 minSunday, 7 PM: up to 9 minSunday, 8 PM: up to 9 minSunday, 9 PM: up to 9 minSunday, 10 PM: up to 8 minSunday, 11 PM: up to 8 min
MonMonday, 4 AM: up to 9 minMonday, 5 AM: up to 9 minMonday, 6 AM: up to 9 minMonday, 7 AM: up to 9 minMonday, 8 AM: up to 9 minMonday, 9 AM: up to 14 minMonday, 10 AM: up to 19 minMonday, 11 AM: up to 19 minMonday, 12 PM: up to 15 minMonday, 1 PM: up to 9 minMonday, 2 PM: up to 9 minMonday, 3 PM: up to 9 minMonday, 4 PM: up to 8 minMonday, 5 PM: up to 9 minMonday, 6 PM: up to 7 minMonday, 7 PM: up to 8 minMonday, 8 PM: up to 8 minMonday, 9 PM: up to 8 minMonday, 10 PM: up to 8 minMonday, 11 PM: up to 8 min
TueTuesday, 4 AM: up to 9 minTuesday, 5 AM: up to 5 minTuesday, 6 AM: up to 7 minTuesday, 7 AM: up to 9 minTuesday, 8 AM: up to 9 minTuesday, 9 AM: up to 14 minTuesday, 10 AM: up to 9 minTuesday, 11 AM: up to 12 minTuesday, 12 PM: up to 9 minTuesday, 1 PM: up to 7 minTuesday, 2 PM: up to 7 minTuesday, 3 PM: up to 8 minTuesday, 4 PM: up to 9 minTuesday, 5 PM: up to 6 minTuesday, 6 PM: up to 5 minTuesday, 7 PM: up to 5 minTuesday, 8 PM: up to 9 minTuesday, 9 PM: up to 6 minTuesday, 10 PM: up to 6 minTuesday, 11 PM: up to 7 min
WedWednesday, 4 AM: up to 5 minWednesday, 5 AM: up to 9 minWednesday, 6 AM: up to 7 minWednesday, 7 AM: up to 8 minWednesday, 8 AM: up to 9 minWednesday, 9 AM: up to 8 minWednesday, 10 AM: up to 11 minWednesday, 11 AM: up to 9 minWednesday, 12 PM: up to 9 minWednesday, 1 PM: up to 8 minWednesday, 2 PM: up to 9 minWednesday, 3 PM: up to 9 minWednesday, 4 PM: up to 9 minWednesday, 5 PM: up to 9 minWednesday, 6 PM: up to 8 minWednesday, 7 PM: up to 7 minWednesday, 8 PM: up to 9 minWednesday, 9 PM: up to 8 minWednesday, 10 PM: up to 8 minWednesday, 11 PM: up to 9 min
ThuThursday, 4 AM: up to 8 minThursday, 5 AM: up to 9 minThursday, 6 AM: up to 9 minThursday, 7 AM: up to 9 minThursday, 8 AM: up to 9 minThursday, 9 AM: up to 9 minThursday, 10 AM: up to 16 minThursday, 11 AM: up to 13 minThursday, 12 PM: up to 9 minThursday, 1 PM: up to 16 minThursday, 2 PM: up to 9 minThursday, 3 PM: up to 9 minThursday, 4 PM: up to 8 minThursday, 5 PM: up to 9 minThursday, 6 PM: up to 8 minThursday, 7 PM: up to 8 minThursday, 8 PM: up to 9 minThursday, 9 PM: up to 8 minThursday, 10 PM: up to 9 minThursday, 11 PM: up to 7 min
FriFriday, 4 AM: up to 8 minFriday, 5 AM: up to 9 minFriday, 6 AM: up to 9 minFriday, 7 AM: up to 9 minFriday, 8 AM: up to 14 minFriday, 9 AM: up to 9 minFriday, 10 AM: up to 9 minFriday, 11 AM: up to 9 minFriday, 12 PM: up to 19 minFriday, 1 PM: up to 9 minFriday, 2 PM: up to 9 minFriday, 3 PM: up to 9 minFriday, 4 PM: up to 9 minFriday, 5 PM: up to 9 minFriday, 6 PM: up to 9 minFriday, 7 PM: up to 9 minFriday, 8 PM: up to 8 minFriday, 9 PM: up to 9 minFriday, 10 PM: up to 9 minFriday, 11 PM: up to 7 min
SatSaturday, 4 AM: up to 7 minSaturday, 5 AM: up to 8 minSaturday, 6 AM: up to 8 minSaturday, 7 AM: up to 9 minSaturday, 8 AM: up to 8 minSaturday, 9 AM: up to 9 minSaturday, 10 AM: up to 9 minSaturday, 11 AM: up to 9 minSaturday, 12 PM: up to 8 minSaturday, 1 PM: up to 9 minSaturday, 2 PM: up to 7 minSaturday, 3 PM: up to 8 minSaturday, 4 PM: up to 7 minSaturday, 5 PM: up to 9 minSaturday, 6 PM: up to 9 minSaturday, 7 PM: up to 7 minSaturday, 8 PM: up to 8 minSaturday, 9 PM: up to 8 minSaturday, 10 PM: up to 9 minSaturday, 11 PM: up to 7 min

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
Sunday6 AM · Up to 8 min8 AM · Up to 14 min
Monday6 PM · Up to 7 min10 AM · Up to 19 min
Tuesday5 AM · Up to 5 min9 AM · Up to 14 min
Wednesday6 AM · Up to 7 min10 AM · Up to 11 min
Thursday4 PM · Up to 8 min10 AM · Up to 16 min
Friday Today8 PM · Up to 8 min12 PM · Up to 19 min
Saturday2 PM · Up to 7 min7 AM · Up to 9 min

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

SFO security questions, answered.

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

Security lines at SFO are usually shortest around 7 PM and longest around 10 AM. Tuesday tends to be the quietest day, and Monday the busiest.

When is the TSA line longest at SFO?

Waits peak on Mondays around 10 AM, when they can reach 19 minutes. Across the week, that hour is usually the busiest.

How early should I get to SFO?

Airlines commonly recommend arriving about 2 hours before a domestic flight and 3 hours before an international one. At SFO, the security wait can reach 19 minutes at the busiest times between 5 AM and 10 PM, so leave extra time around 10 AM, especially on Mondays.

How long is the TSA line at SFO right now?

TSA’s figures put the wait at up to 9 minutes at this hour on Fridays (as of 3:21 PM local time).

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

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 SFO local time. Live waits come from the airport or from traveler reports, where available.

SFO 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