# Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP): What It Is and How to Enroll URL: https://emptvl.vercel.app/travel-guides/smart-traveler-enrollment-program Publisher: Empyrean Travel (https://emptvl.vercel.app/) Last reviewed: 2026-10-19 STEP is the State Department’s free program that sends U.S. travelers embassy alerts and helps them reach you in an emergency. What it does and how to enroll. **Quick answer:** The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) is a free State Department service for U.S. citizens and nationals traveling or living abroad. You register your trip at step.state.gov, and the U.S. embassy for your destination sends you safety and security alerts and can contact you, or help family reach you, in an emergency. It takes a few minutes and is worth doing for every international trip. - Cost: Free - Who can enroll: U.S. citizens and nationals - What you get: Embassy alerts and emergency contact - Where to enroll: step.state.gov ## What is STEP and what does it do? STEP is run by the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs. When you enroll a trip, your details go to the U.S. embassy or consulate covering your destination, and three useful things follow. - Alerts: you receive the embassy’s security, health and demonstration alerts for that country by email, the moment they’re issued. - Contact in a crisis: after a natural disaster, civil unrest or other emergency, the embassy can reach you with instructions and check on your welfare. - Family emergencies: if someone at home needs to reach you urgently, the embassy can use your STEP details to help them find you. ## How do you enroll in STEP? Go to step.state.gov, create an account and add a trip: the countries, dates, where you’re staying and how to reach you locally. You can also list an emergency contact. If you live abroad, enroll as a resident rather than adding individual trips. You can also subscribe to a country’s alerts without a trip, which is useful while you’re deciding whether to book, or when a family member is traveling. - Add every country on a multi-country itinerary, with accurate dates. - Use an email address you’ll actually check while traveling. - Update the enrollment if your plans change mid-trip, and delete trips you cancel. ## What won’t STEP do for you? STEP is a communication tool, not a rescue service. Enrolling doesn’t mean the U.S. government will evacuate you: commercial flights are the expected way out of most crises, and when the government does arrange departure assistance, it is generally provided on a reimbursable basis, which can mean signing a promissory note. STEP also doesn’t replace travel insurance, medical evacuation coverage or your employer’s traveler-tracking system. Treat it as one layer of protection: it gets official information to you quickly, and it gives the embassy a way to find you. ## Should business travelers enroll in STEP? Yes. A company’s duty of care program should already know where travelers are and how to reach them, but STEP adds direct embassy alerts the traveler sees in real time. Some companies require enrollment only for Level 2 and higher destinations; making it a standard step for every international trip is simpler and easier to enforce. Travel managers can make it effortless: put the STEP link in itinerary emails and approval workflows, and for international business travel, pair it with your own emergency contact procedures and an up-to-date traveler profile. ## Who is eligible, and what about non-U.S. travel companions? STEP is for U.S. citizens and nationals. Green-card holders and other non-citizens traveling with you aren’t covered and should use their own country’s registration or alert service where one exists; Canada, the U.K. and Australia all offer travel alerts for their citizens. In a mixed-nationality group, a family or a corporate team, make sure everyone knows which embassy to call and has saved its number. Read the State Department advisory together before you go so everyone shares the same picture of the risks. ## Frequently asked questions **Q: Is STEP free?** A: Yes. The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program is a free service from the U.S. Department of State. You create an account at step.state.gov, add your trip or subscribe to country updates, and receive embassy alerts by email at no cost. There’s no charge for the embassy contacting you in an emergency, though any government-arranged departure is generally provided on a reimbursable basis. **Q: Who can enroll in STEP?** A: U.S. citizens and U.S. nationals traveling or living abroad can enroll. Green-card holders and other non-citizens aren’t eligible and should register with their own country’s embassy or alert service if one is available. Group organizers should make sure every traveler, including non-U.S. members, has an emergency plan and the right embassy contact details. **Q: Will the government evacuate me if I’m enrolled in STEP?** A: Not necessarily. STEP helps the embassy contact you and share instructions, but it isn’t an evacuation guarantee. In most crises travelers are expected to leave on commercial flights, and if the government arranges departure assistance it is generally on a reimbursable basis. Travel insurance with evacuation coverage, or an employer’s assistance program, is the better safety net. **Q: Should I enroll in STEP for a short trip?** A: Yes. Earthquakes, strikes, protests and airport closures don’t wait for long trips. Enrolling takes a few minutes, and you’ll receive alerts for each country while you’re there. Add every country on your itinerary with accurate dates, including multi-day stopovers, and remove the trip if you cancel so the embassy’s information stays accurate. **Q: Is my STEP information kept private?** A: STEP information is protected under the federal Privacy Act and used by the State Department to contact and assist you. You choose whether to list an emergency contact and what details to include. Keep your enrollment current and delete trips you cancel, so the embassy has accurate information if it ever needs to reach you. ## Sources - [Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)](https://step.state.gov/) - [U.S. Department of State: Travel.State.Gov](https://travel.state.gov/)