ESTA application: how to apply on the official CBP site
Independent site, not a government service: you apply only on the official CBP site, esta.cbp.dhs.gov.
Check first that your passport is in the Visa Waiver Program, then follow the steps on esta.cbp.dhs.gov only.
Official total, 1 traveller
€0.00
Nothing to pay for these destinations
United States–
No authorisation needed
Citizens enter with their own passport.
Euro amounts: our conversion at the ECB reference rate of October 23, 2026; you pay in the official currency.
An ESTA application is made online on esta.cbp.dhs.gov, the site of US Customs and Border Protection, and takes one form per traveller. You need an e-passport from one of the 42 Visa Waiver Program countries, with the chip symbol on its cover, an email address, and a card to pay USD 40.62. The form is in English, though the site offers translated instructions; it asks for your passport details, contact information, employment, and a series of yes-or-no eligibility questions on health, criminal history, previous refusals and travel to certain countries. CBP recommends applying as soon as you begin preparing your trip, and before buying tickets, because an approved ESTA is required before you board a plane or ship to the United States. Federal rules require a new application if you get a new passport, change your name, gender or citizenship, or if an answer to an eligibility question changes. A family can apply together through a group application, each person still paying the full fee.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Before you start
Make sure every traveller has an e-passport valid for the trip; the DHS passport requirements explain the chip rule. Check that nobody in the group has been to Iraq, Syria or a designated state sponsor of terrorism since March 1, 2011, which excludes them from the ESTA by law. Have a payment card ready and an email address you read.
Step 1: open the official site
Type esta.cbp.dhs.gov yourself rather than following an advertisement. The address ends in .dhs.gov. Choose an individual application, or a group application if you are applying for several people.
Step 2: passport and personal details
Enter the details exactly as they appear on the passport, including the issuing country and the expiry date. A typing error in the passport number makes the ESTA useless at check-in, and the only fix is a new application at the full fee.
Step 3: the eligibility questions
The yes-or-no questions cover health, arrests and convictions, drugs, terrorism, fraud, previous visa refusals or overstays, and travel to certain countries. Answer them truthfully for each person in the group. A yes does not always mean a refusal, but it often does.
Step 4: pay and keep the number
Pay USD 40.62 per application. You receive an application number: write it down, because you need it, with the passport number and date of birth, to check the status later on the same site.
When to apply
CBP says applications may be submitted at any time before travel and recommends applying as soon as you begin preparing your plans, or before buying tickets. It publishes no processing time, so the calculator below gives no date for the United States, only that advice; compare it with the dates it gives for the UK or Canada.
When should I apply?
Apply at the latest on
October 24, 2026
No official deadline: today is best
CBP gives no fixed delay: apply as soon as you plan the trip, before buying tickets.
Our margin: calendar days covering the longest official delay, weekends included.
Apply only at esta.cbp.dhs.gov
Once approved, the ESTA lasts two years or until the passport expires. Under 8 CFR 217.5(e), a new passport, a new name, a change of gender or citizenship, or a change in the facts behind a yes-or-no answer requires a new application. The status page explains how to check your application, and the cost page the total for a group.