TSA Certified

TimeSavers Courier Service is now TSA Certified. That means we can handle sensitive or regulated materials, such as those that need to be transported securely through airports or other high-security areas. You can learn more about TSA Certification and what it means below.

Passenger Flights With Cargo

Forbes says that around half of air cargo travels in the hold of passenger flights, alongside personal baggage. Some of the shipments are urgently needed; some contain life-saving medical equipment. Even if the shipment's not urgent, a long wait in security screening can hurt the bottom line.

Under federal law, the TSA says, every piece of cargo on a passenger flight has to receive the same scrutiny as passenger-checked baggage. The TSA's Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP) is one way to speed things up. TSA certification authorizes businesses to carry out cargo screenings. Any business that delivers cargo directly to an air carrier can apply for TSA certification including manufacturers, warehouses and cargo handlers.

TSA Certification for CCSP

To receive TSA certification, cargo screening facilities must carry out a TSA-approved security program. They have to maintain a strict chain of custody from the time of screening to the moment the handlers place the cargo on the passenger aircraft for shipment. The risk of an unauthorized driver or shipper planting something explosive in the cargo is unacceptable.

The TSA has a list of acceptable screening tech that companies can use for screening as long as they follow TSA procedures. The TSA recommends you select from its list of "qualified technologies," which are the screening equivalent of best practices. "Approved technologies" are methods that look good but are still under review, so there's a risk they'll be rejected later. "Grandfathered technologies" are outmoded systems that at a given date will become unacceptable.

Rather than invest in tech, you can make us of the TSA's Third-Party Canine-Cargo Program. This allows you to meet TSA certification requirements by deploying trained bomb-sniffing dogs to check for explosives. However you need TSA approval to use dogs as part of their security system. The company that provides the dogs must undergo a TSA certification process of its own.

The TSA website doesn't list the details of how you qualify for TSA certification. Instead it tells you to email the TSA if you're interested in CCSP certification.