The White House is one of the most iconic buildings in America. Getting White House tickets is relatively easy. In order to visit the White House, you need to request these tickets from your member of Congress. Make sure to do this at least three weeks in advance (ideally more like three months in advance).

How to Get White House Tour TICKETS

Who to contact for White House tickets

American visitors have three people who they can contact to make their White House Tickets request. You can ask your member of Congress or either of your two Senators. Every Representative and Senator has their own website, but they don’t always look alike.

Where to find the form to request White House tickets

Once you are on your Representative and Senator’s website, look around under “constituent services” or “help” or “contact”. Sometimes the page you are looking for is called “tour DC” or “visit DC” or “tours and tickets.” Since there are well over 500 total Representatives and Senators it’s impossible to say what any individual site will look like.

Once you get to the requests page, some representatives will have a form right there that you can just go ahead and fill out. Some will make you register for an account first, and some, especially the more high-ranking members of Congress, like the Speaker of the House, will make you enter a 9 digit zip code. From there, you will fill out a standard contact form. It’s going to ask for your name, your contact information, and the three dates that you’d like to be considered for the tour.

Which days to pick

This is a trip hack you should consider: pick one, and only one, date on your contact form. Most people assume that if they pick three dates that’s going to increase the chances of getting White House tickets. The problem is that no matter how early you submit your request, you will not find out if you get to go until about two weeks before your trip. So, if you only choose one date you can plan out the rest of your trip and make a back-up plan on that one date if things don’t work out; whereas if you pick three dates it’s going to be a lot harder to plan your trip, because you have to hold all of those days not knowing if or when you’re going to go.

What happens if you get White House tickets

After you’ve submitted the form to your Representative, their staff will forward the information on to the White House. A White House staff member will follow up with you. They will send you another form where you will have to fill out your name, date of birth, social security number, and other information. Then you wait.

It’s important to remember that the White House is not a museum. A lot of people want to go. However, there is a limited capacity. So honestly, don’t be too surprised or upset if your request gets declined. The best way to improve your chance of success is to submit your initial request three months in advance and travel during the off season.

Good luck!

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