(a) No individual may enter a sterile area or board an aircraft without submitting to the screening and inspection of his or her person and accessible property in accordance with the procedures being applied to control access to that area or aircraft under this subchapter.
(b) An individual must provide his or her full name, as defined in § 1560.3 of this chapter, date of birth, and sex when—
(1) The individual, or a person on the individual's behalf, makes a reservation for a covered flight, as defined in § 1560.3 of this chapter, or
(2) The individual makes a request for authorization to enter a sterile area.
(c) An individual may not enter a sterile area or board an aircraft if the individual does not present a verifying identity document as defined in § 1560.3 of this chapter, when requested for purposes of watch list matching under § 1560.105(c), unless otherwise authorized by TSA on a case-by-case basis.
(d) The screening and inspection described in paragraph (a) of this section may include the use of advanced imaging technology. Advanced imaging technology used for the screening of passengers under this section must be equipped with and employ automatic target recognition software and any other requirement TSA deems necessary to address privacy considerations.
(1) For purposes of this section, advanced imaging technology-
(i) Means a device used in the screening of passengers that creates a visual image of an individual showing the surface of the skin and revealing other objects on the body; and
(ii) May include devices using backscatter x-rays or millimeter waves and devices referred to as whole body imaging technology or body scanning machines.
(2) For purposes of this section, automatic target recognition software means software installed on an advanced imaging technology device that produces a generic image of the individual being screened that is the same as the images produced for all other screened individuals.
[73 FR 64061, Oct. 28, 2008, as amended at 81 FR 11405, Mar. 3, 2016; 90 FR 21690, May 21, 2025]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
13
cases (
4 in the last 5 years), 2004–2025 · leading case:
United States v. Aukai, 497 F.3d 955 (9th Cir. 2007).
United States v. Aukai, 497 F.3d 955 (9th Cir. 2007).
· cites it 4× “1593 ; 49 C.F.R. § 1540.107 . Under current TSA regulations and procedures, that election occurs when a prospective passenger walks through the magnetometer or places items on the conveyor belt of the x-ray machine.”
Zoltanski v. Fed. Aviation Admin., 372 F.3d 1195 (10th Cir. 2004).
“37330 , 37356 (July 17, 2001), and then at 49 C.F.R. § 1540.107 in 2002, following the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration.”
Pellegrino v. U.S. Transp. SEC. Admin., 896 F.3d 207 (3rd Cir. 2018).
· cites it 2× “See 49 C.F.R. § 1540.107 (a) (“No individual may enter a sterile area or board an aircraft without submitting to the screening and inspection of his or her person and accessible property in accordance with the procedures being applied to control access to that area or aircraft…”
Rohan Ramsingh v. TSA, 40 F.4th 625 (D.C. Cir. 2022).
· cites it 2× “]” 49 C.F.R. § 1540.107 (a). The “sterile area” is the “portion of an airport * * * that provides passengers access to boarding aircraft and to which the access generally is controlled by TSA[.”
Weinraub v. United States, 927 F. Supp. 2d 258 (E.D.N.C. 2012).
“§ 44901 (requiring the screening of all passengers and property); § 44902 (requiring passengers to consent to a search to establish whether a passenger is carrying, or the property of a passenger contains, a dangerous weapon, explosive, or other destructive substance); 49 C.F.R.…”
Hernandez v. United States, 34 F. Supp. 3d 1168 (D. Colo. 2014).
“§ 44902 (requiring passengers to consent to a search to establish whether a passenger is carrying, or the property of a passenger contains, a dangerous weapon, explosive, or other destructive substance); 49 C.F.R. § 1540.107 (requiring submission to screening and inspection of…”
Corbett v. Transp. Sec. Admin., 968 F. Supp. 2d 1171 (S.D. Fla. 2012).
“§ 44901 (requiring the screening of all passengers and property); § 44902 (requiring passengers to consent to a search to establish whether a passenger is carrying, or the property of a passenger contains, a dangerous weapon, explosive, or other destructive substance); 49 C.F.R.…”
United States v. Daniel Flint (9th Cir. 2021).
· cites it 2× “, 49 C.F.R. § 1540.107 (a). Regardless of what occurred in Chicago, Flint was charged with and convicted of criminal conduct at Los Angeles International Airport.”
Michael Muir v. DHS (D.C. Cir. 2025).
· cites it 2× “” 49 C.F.R. § 1540.107 (a). In 2007, TSA initially deployed AIT scanners as secondary screening measures, but by 2010 AIT scanners were the primary method of screening.”
United States v. Aukai (9th Cir. 2007).
· cites it 2× “§ 44901 ; 49 C.F.R. § 1540.107 . UNITED STATES v. AUKAI 9657 tive searches because they are “conducted as part of a general regulatory scheme in furtherance of an administrative pur- pose, namely, to prevent the carrying of weapons or explo- sives aboard aircraft, and thereby to…”
Jessica Lundquist v. USA (9th Cir. 2023).
“§ 44901 and finding that an 18-minute detention at a checkpoint for a nonconsensual airport- screening search was “constitutionally reasonable”); see also 49 C.F.R. § 1540.107 (prohibiting individuals from entering the sterile area of the airport without submitting to screening…”
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