The TSA notification card is a small printed form you download free from TSA’s website, fill in with a short description of your disability, medical condition, or medical device, and hand to a security officer at the checkpoint so screening can be adjusted to your needs without a public conversation. It doesn’t excuse you from screening. It changes how screening happens.
How to Get the Card
The card is a downloadable PDF on TSA’s website.1Transportation Security Administration. TSA Disability Notification Card There is no application, no fee, and no medical documentation required to use it. A doctor’s note or prescription is not a prerequisite for the card or for receiving modified screening.2Transportation Security Administration. Disabilities and Medical Conditions
Print it at home. Print a few copies and keep one in each carry-on so you always have it within reach.
What to Write on It
The card has one blank field for you to describe your condition, disability, or medical device. You do not need to include your medical history. A short, plain sentence is what officers actually use. Something like “I have a pacemaker that will set off the metal detector” or “I wear an insulin pump on my left hip” tells the officer what they need to know.
Fill it in before you leave for the airport. If your device cannot be X-rayed, or a part of your body is sensitive to touch, put that on the card too. The more specific your description, the less back-and-forth at the lane.
How to Use It at the Checkpoint
Hand the card to the first TSA officer you meet in the screening lane, before you start loading the conveyor belt. That gives the officer a moment to read it, ask anything they need to, and choose a screening method that fits.
Depending on what you disclosed, the officer may route you to the advanced imaging technology scanner, do a pat-down, swab your hands or a device for explosive residue, or use some combination. Pat-downs are performed by an officer of the same gender, and you can ask for a private screening room with a companion present at any time.3U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. TSA Airport Screening: Myth vs. Fact You do not need to explain why. Just ask.
The card is one of three ways TSA lets you communicate a condition. You can also tell the officer verbally or show medical documentation. All three are voluntary, and none is required over the others.2Transportation Security Administration. Disabilities and Medical Conditions
What the Card Does Not Do
The card does not exempt you from screening. Every passenger entering the sterile area has to complete some form of screening under federal regulation, and following the officer’s instructions remains mandatory even after you hand over the card.4eCFR. 49 CFR Part 1540 – Civil Aviation Security: General Rules What changes is the method, not whether it happens.
Implants, Pacemakers, and External Devices
If you have an internal device such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, or a metal joint replacement, TSA recommends the advanced imaging technology scanner over the walk-through metal detector. The walk-through detector will almost certainly alarm on internal metal, which triggers an automatic pat-down. The imaging scanner can usually clear the device without physical contact.5Transportation Security Administration. What Are the Procedures if I Have an Internal or External Medical Device, Such as a Pacemaker or Metal Implant?
TSA’s guidance is direct on one point: you should not walk through a metal detector if you have a pacemaker or similar internal device. Talk to your physician before flying if you have any concerns about screening technology and your specific implant.5Transportation Security Administration. What Are the Procedures if I Have an Internal or External Medical Device, Such as a Pacemaker or Metal Implant? If you decline both the imaging scanner and the metal detector, a full pat-down is the remaining option.
External devices such as insulin pumps, ostomy pouches, and prosthetic limbs do not necessarily need to come off. Tell the officer what you are wearing and where. Officers will usually swab the area around the device for explosive trace detection rather than ask you to remove it.
Medication, Liquids, and Equipment
The standard 3.4-ounce liquid limit does not apply to medically necessary liquids, gels, and aerosols. You can bring reasonable quantities for your trip. Before your bag reaches the X-ray, take these items out of your carry-on and place them in a separate bin along with any related accessories such as freezer packs, IV bags, pumps, or syringes, and tell the officer what you are declaring.2Transportation Security Administration. Disabilities and Medical Conditions
Gel ice packs for keeping medication cool are allowed whether frozen, partially melted, or fully liquid.6Transportation Security Administration. Gel Ice Packs If you do not want a liquid medication X-rayed or opened, tell the officer. They will use alternative methods, which may include imaging technology on you personally, a pat-down, and additional inspection of your carry-on.2Transportation Security Administration. Disabilities and Medical Conditions
Unused syringes are allowed in both carry-on and checked bags when accompanied by injectable medication, and you must declare them at the checkpoint. Labeling your medication is recommended but not required.7Transportation Security Administration. Unused Syringes CPAP, BiPAP, and nebulizer equipment travels in your carry-on. In standard lanes you may need to take the device out of its case for X-ray, though it can stay assembled. In PreCheck lanes, these can stay inside your carry-on.8Transportation Security Administration. Nebulizers, CPAPs, BiPAPs, and APAPs
Wheelchairs and Mobility Devices
Officers screen the mobility device itself, including seat cushions and attached pouches. Cushions are physically inspected and tested for explosive traces, and removable items go through the X-ray separately. If you can stand and walk, you go through the imaging technology like other passengers. If you cannot, screening happens while you stay seated.2Transportation Security Administration. Disabilities and Medical Conditions
PreCheck Still Applies
TSA PreCheck benefits do not disappear because you have a medical condition or use a notification card. Shoes stay on, laptops stay in the bag, and light jackets stay on. The card doesn’t modify those benefits.2Transportation Security Administration. Disabilities and Medical Conditions Additional screening in a PreCheck lane only starts if something alarms during the scan, in which case the same medical-device procedures apply.
When the Card Isn’t Enough: TSA Cares
If handing over a card feels like too much to manage on your own, you can request a Passenger Support Specialist. These are TSA officers with additional training in helping travelers who have disabilities, medical conditions, or other circumstances that make standard screening difficult. A specialist can walk you through each step and coordinate with other officers so you do not have to repeat yourself.9Transportation Security Administration. Passenger Support
To make sure a specialist is available when you arrive, contact TSA Cares at least 72 hours before departure. Call (855) 787-2227 or use the online TSA Cares request form. Phone hours are weekdays 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET and weekends and holidays 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.9Transportation Security Administration. Passenger Support Requesting a specialist does not exempt you from screening.
If Screening Goes Wrong
At the airport, you can ask to speak with a supervisor on the spot. After the fact, you can file a formal complaint through TSA’s online complaint form. To be considered complete, the complaint must be filed within 180 days of the alleged act of discrimination.10Transportation Security Administration. Complaint Form Include the airport, date, time, checkpoint location, and what happened. Vague complaints are harder to investigate.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is the federal law that requires TSA, as part of the Department of Homeland Security, to make reasonable modifications to its screening procedures for passengers whose disabilities require them.11U.S. Department of Labor. Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 The notification card is the everyday tool for putting that right into practice.