---
title: "ATL security checkpoints explained: Main, North, Lower North"
description: "ATL has five checkpoints and says you can reach every gate from any of them. Main is open 24 hours, South is PreCheck only. Which lanes each one has."
url: "https://atlairportguide.com/guides/atl-security-checkpoints-explained/"
updated: "2026-11-15"
airport: "ATL"
type: "guide"
---

> Independent guide, not the official ATL website. All pages: https://atlairportguide.com/llms.txt

# ATL security checkpoints explained: Main, North, Lower North, South and International

ATL has five checkpoints and says you can reach every gate from any of them. Main is open 24 hours, South is PreCheck only. Which lanes each one has.

Published November 15, 2026

![The empty Main Checkpoint hall in the Domestic Terminal at Atlanta airport, with rope lanes leading toward the far screening lanes.](https://atlairportguide.com/images/atl/main-checkpoint-entrance-v6.webp)

Main Checkpoint, Domestic Terminal

ATL has five security checkpoints, four in the Domestic Terminal and one in the International Terminal. ATL says passengers can reach all concourses and gates from any checkpoint, so pick by lane and hour, not by where your gate is. Each checkpoint’s published hours are on the [security page](https://atlairportguide.com/security/).

## The five checkpoints and their lanes

| Checkpoint | Where | Lanes ATL lists |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Main | Domestic Terminal, no side named | Standard |
| North | Domestic Terminal North | Standard, Priority Screening |
| Lower North | Domestic Terminal, Lower North | Standard, CLEAR Standard |
| South | Domestic Terminal South | TSA PreCheck, PreCheck Touchless ID, CLEAR with PreCheck |
| International | International Terminal departures | Standard, TSA PreCheck |

ATL’s wait times page calls the International checkpoint International Main. ATL doesn’t say who qualifies for Priority Screening at North, so check with your airline before you count on it.

## Which one to use

- **You have TSA PreCheck, with or without CLEAR.** Use South. It’s the one Domestic Terminal checkpoint with a PreCheck lane, and without PreCheck you can’t use it. TSA says the [Touchless ID lane](https://atlairportguide.com/venues/tsa-precheck-with-digital-id/) requires three things: PreCheck, a valid passport and an active profile with a participating airline or Google Wallet.
- **You have CLEAR but not PreCheck.** Use Lower North, which has the CLEAR Standard lane.
- **You have neither, or you’re not sure.** Compare Main, North and Lower North on ATL’s wait times page, which posts a wait in minutes for each. The [security wait times guide](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/security-wait-times-at-atl/) explains the bands and puts every checkpoint’s hours beside CLEAR’s lane hours.
- **You’re leaving in the middle of the night.** Use Main. ATL lists it open 24 hours, and it’s the only Domestic Terminal checkpoint on ATL’s table open before 3:30 a.m. or after 9 p.m.

## Where ATL and CLEAR don’t agree

ATL’s hours table lists a checkpoint’s hours, and CLEAR lists its own lane’s hours. At Lower North, ATL lists the checkpoint with its CLEAR Standard lane from 3:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. CLEAR’s page calls the same place Domestic Terminal North and lists its standard lane from 4:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. At South, ATL’s table opens the checkpoint at 4 a.m., and CLEAR’s page starts its PreCheck lane at 4:30 a.m. If you’re counting on a CLEAR lane in the first hour, or in the evening at Lower North, CLEAR’s hours are the ones to plan around.

## Flying from the International Terminal

The International Terminal has its own entrance, on the far side of the airfield from the Domestic Terminal and not walkable from it. A free [shuttle](https://atlairportguide.com/transport/international-terminal-shuttle/) links the two.

If you’re flying from the International Terminal, ATL’s table lists two windows, 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., beside its PreCheck row without naming the lane. CLEAR’s page lists its Standard and TSA PreCheck lanes here as one window, 5 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Outside those windows, ATL lists only the Standard lane, from 4:30 a.m. to midnight.

### Sources

- Our [security page](https://atlairportguide.com/security/), [security wait times guide](https://atlairportguide.com/guides/security-wait-times-at-atl/), [International Terminal shuttle page](https://atlairportguide.com/transport/international-terminal-shuttle/) and [Touchless ID listing](https://atlairportguide.com/venues/tsa-precheck-with-digital-id/)
- ATL’s passenger security page, ATL’s wait times page and ATL’s terminal maps page
- CLEAR’s Hartsfield-Jackson locations page and TSA’s PreCheck Touchless ID page