European Entry/Exit System (EES) pre-registration devices: how to use them?

Verified 25 August 2025 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Entry into service of the EES

The EES system will come into operation on 12 october 2025. It will be gradually deployed at border crossing points (airports, stations and ports), to be fully operational by 10 april 2026. During this 6-month phase-in period, it is possible that travelers' biometric data may not be collected at each border crossing point. In that case, passports will continue to be stamped as they are today.

Registration in the input/output system (EES), which will be implemented as of 12 October 2025, will be implemented within the border crossing point (airport, port, train station, etc.) where the traveler crosses the external border of the Schengen area.

In order to be able to record the data necessary for the creation of their EES file, travelers will have 2 options :

  • They can go directly to the border control post for a border guard to collect the data and register in the EES system.
  • They can use a pre-registration device, of the “kiosk” or “tablet” type present at certain border crossing points. These fluidization devices allow a faster crossing of the border. The EES file will be validated by a border guard at the checkpoint.

We present you the information you need to know about this pre-registration device.

A pre-registration device is a technological solution allowing travelers to record the data necessary for the creation of their EES file, prior to the actual control at the control post by the border guards.

These devices take two forms depending on the specificities of the border crossing points:

  • Kiosk: in the form of a fixed terminal with self-service access by passengers
  • Tablet: taking the form of a mobile tablet manipulated by agents.

These devices allow a crossing faster border. Their use is optional and free of charge.

The EES file will be validated by a border guard at the checkpoint.

To be able to use the pre-registration devices, the traveler must have a valid biometric passport (containing a chip).

For minors under 12 years of age:

  • Minors accompanied may use pre-registration devices. The kiosk does not capture any biometrics (the facial image of the minor will be taken at the checkpoint). The tablet only captures facial biometrics.
  • Minors unaccompanied are not authorized to use pre-registration devices. The actions necessary to create and update their EES file will be carried out directly at the border control post by a border guard.

Airports

You can use them at the following airports:

  • Roissy-Charles de Gaulle
  • Orly
  • Basel-Mulhouse
  • ·Beauvais
  • Bordeaux
  • Lyon
  • Marseille
  • Montpellier
  • Nantes
  • Nice
  • Strasbourg
  • Toulouse.
Stations

You can use them at the following stations:

  • Gare du Nord (Eurostar)
  • St Pancras Station in London (Eurostar)
  • Coquelles terminal in France (Eurotunnel)
  • Folkestone Terminal in the United Kingdom (Eurotunnel).
Ports

You can use them in the following ports:

  • Caen
  • Calais
  • Cherbourg
  • Dieppe
  • Dover
  • Dunkirk
  • Le Havre
  • Marseille
  • Saint-Malo
  • Sète.

The pre-registration devices allow you to collect the data necessary for the creation and updating of your EES file :

  • The data contained in the travel document(s) : surname, first name, date of birth, place of birth, gender, nationality, travel document number, 3-letter code of the country of issue of the travel document, travel document expiry date,
  • The location, thetime and the date of border crossing : entry into and exit from the Schengen area,
  • The biometric data of the traveler : facial biometrics (photo of the face) and, except for minors under 12, digital biometrics (fingerprints of the right hand, or otherwise of the left hand).

The collection of biometric data of third-country nationals concerned by the EES will be mandatory. If the traveler refuses the collection of his biometric data, he will be refused entry into the Schengen territory.

FYI  

Since the use of the pre-registration system is not compulsory, the traveler is free to go directly to a control post for his data to be recorded by a border guard.

You must follow the “Pre-Registration Device” panel to locate the device.

Kiosk

You must follow the following steps:

  1. Show up alone in front of the kiosk
  2. Click on the home screen to start your pre-registration and follow the instructions that appear
  3. Answer the questionnaire about your situation and your trip
  4. Place your passport on the photo page in the top left of the reader and hold the document on the reader until the device informs you that the capture is successful. Depending on your situation, you may be asked to scan the visa you have.
  5. Get ready to take your facial image: if you wear it, remove your glasses, scarf, hat and mask
  6. Stand in front of the camera and help yourself with bright LEDs in order to achieve the photo taking successfully
  7. Get ready to save your fingerprints: press the 4 fingers of your right hand on the reader. If it is not possible to use the right hand, you can use the left hand.
  8. At the end of your pre-registration, the kiosk screen will direct you to the rest of the journey to complete your border crossing.

During the pre-check-in stage at the kiosk, orientation officers are available to help and guide travelers in case of difficulty.

Tablet

You must follow the following steps:

  1. Introduce yourself to an orientation agent equipped with a tablet, in charge of helping you to carry out your pre-registration.
  2. Answer questions asked by the agent. They concern your situation and your journey. Depending on your situation, you may be asked to scan the visa you have.
  3. Present your passport to the officer, who will read the MRZ tape and the chip of your document.
  4. Get ready to take your facial image: if you wear it, remove your glasses, scarf, hat and mask.
  5. The agent using the tablet will take your face in photo.
  6. Get ready to save your fingerprints: press the 4 fingers of your right hand on the reader indicated by the agent. If it is not possible to use the right hand, you can use the left hand.
  7. At the end of your pre-check-in, the orientation officer will guide you to the rest of the journey to complete your border crossing.

The data collected is stored on the devices until the actual border crossing. They will then be forwarded to the European EES system. In the absence of a presentation at the checkpoint, the data is deleted automatically after a period of 6 hours.

The processing of data is controlled by the Ministry's Data Protection Officer (Ministry Data Protection Officer – Ministry of the Interior – Place Beauvau – 75800 Paris Cedex 08).

You can access your data. You also have a right to object, a right to rectification and a right to restrict the processing of your data. To exercise these rights or for any question about the processing of your data in this device, you must write to the address donnees-personnelles-dgef@interieur.gouv.fr.

If you feel, after contacting the Ministry, that your rights are not respected, you can send an email to the Ministry of Information Technology and Civil Liberties. claim to the National Commission for Informatics and Liberties (Cnil).