How to Fill Out and Submit the Mobile Passport Control (MPC) Form

To fill out the Mobile Passport Control form, download the free MPC app from CBP, build a traveler profile using your passport, and save it before you fly. After your plane lands or your ship docks at a participating port, open the app, enter your flight or voyage details, answer the customs questions, submit, and show the QR code the app generates to the CBP officer along with your physical passport.¹

The app replaces the blue paper customs declaration. It does not replace the officer, your passport, or any travel authorization you need to enter the country, so if you’re a Visa Waiver Program traveler you still need an approved ESTA before you fly.¹

Who Can Submit the Form

Four groups are eligible: U.S. citizens with a valid passport, Lawful Permanent Residents with a valid passport or green card, Canadian citizens entering on a B-1 or B-2 visitor visa, and Visa Waiver Program travelers returning to the U.S. with an approved ESTA.¹ Everyone on your submission must qualify on their own. If a member of your travel party doesn’t fit one of those categories, they can’t be added.

Build Your Traveler Profile Before You Fly

Download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. It’s free, with no subscription or in-app purchase.² Have your passport or LPR card in hand when you start, because the app pulls information directly from the document.

The profile collects your full legal name exactly as it appears in the machine-readable zone of your passport, your passport number, date of birth, gender, and the document’s expiration date. You can let the app scan the passport to populate the fields, but check every character afterward. A single mistyped digit in your passport number can cause problems at the officer’s station.

Your profile saves to the app, so you only enter this information once unless your document changes.

You also take a selfie for each person on the submission. Face the camera straight on, remove sunglasses and hats, and use decent lighting.³ The officer at the port of entry may take an additional photo to verify identity, so treat the selfie as a preliminary check rather than the final ID step.

Adding Family or Group Members

You can add up to 12 people to a single submission from one device, which is useful for families or groups on the same flight.¹ Each added traveler needs the same profile information and their own selfie.

Complete the Customs Declaration

After your profile is set, the form asks for your trip details (airline, flight number, and port of arrival) and then walks you through the customs questions. These are yes-or-no questions about what you’re bringing into the country: commercial merchandise, food, plants, soil, animal products, and similar categories. Answer honestly. Agricultural violations are taken seriously and can result in fines even when the mistake was accidental.

One question asks whether you’re carrying currency or monetary instruments worth more than $10,000 in total. Federal law requires anyone transporting that amount into or out of the United States to file a report with CBP.⁴ The threshold covers the combined value across all forms, including cash, traveler’s checks, and money orders. Failing to report can lead to seizure of the funds and civil penalties.⁵

The app does not handle duty payments. If you owe duties on anything you declared, the CBP officer will direct you to pay during your in-person inspection. Filling out the form settles the paperwork, not the money.

Submit After You Arrive

Timing is the part travelers get wrong most often. Do not submit the form in the air or before you land. You submit only after your plane touches down or your ship docks at a participating U.S. port of entry. You need a cellular or Wi-Fi connection to submit, and most major airports offer free Wi-Fi in the arrivals area.

Once you submit, the app generates an encrypted QR code. That code stays valid for four hours from the moment it’s created.¹ Four hours is normally more than enough, but a customs backup or a slow deplane can eat into that window. If the code expires, resubmit through the app to generate a new one, which is another reason to keep your phone charged and connected.

Show the QR Code to the Officer

Follow the airport or seaport signage to the MPC lane. These lanes are separate from the regular passport control lines and from the Global Entry kiosks. When you reach the officer, hand over your physical passport and show the QR code on your phone. The officer scans it to pull up your submission, asks any follow-up questions, and makes the final decision on your entry.²

The form shortens the data-entry portion of the inspection, not the officer’s authority. You can still be referred to secondary inspection for any reason, including random selection.⁶

Where You Can Use the Form

MPC works at 55 locations: 37 U.S. international airports, 14 preclearance airports abroad, and 4 cruise seaports.¹ CBP adds locations periodically. The app’s port-of-arrival dropdown shows the current participating list, so check it before you travel rather than relying on an older list you saw elsewhere.

What Happens to the Information You Submit

Your passport data, selfie, and customs answers go to CBP for vetting after you certify the submission as truthful. DHS published a Privacy Impact Assessment for MPC in September 2024 that describes how the information is transmitted and reviewed.⁷ The assessment does not explicitly state whether selfie photos are retained in a permanent federal biometric database or discarded after inspection, so if that distinction matters to you, read the full document.

Your profile information saves locally on your device for future trips. Standard phone security applies: use a passcode, keep the operating system updated, and don’t leave the app signed in on a shared device.

1
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Mobile Passport Control
2
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Mobile Passport Control App – Section: How does MPC Work?
3
Apple Inc. Mobile Passport Control
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 5316 – Reports on Exporting and Importing Monetary Instruments
5
eCFR. 31 CFR 1010.340 – Reports of Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments
6
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Frequently Stopped for Questioning and Inspection When Clearing Customs
7
Department of Homeland Security. Privacy Impact Assessment for the Mobile Passport Control