Visiting the White House


White House

The White House allows me to request a limited number of reserved spots for tours. As my office's resources permit, I am happy to request tours on behalf of Arizonans. Please read all of the information below to avoid confusion when filling out your tour request. 
 
 
On September 4, 2009 President Obama announced that visitor access records to the White House Complex will be made publicly available 90-120 days after the date of visit. This policy includes all guests touring the White House. Please be aware that your full name and the date of your visit will be part of the publicly released records. Your date of birth, Social Security Number and all other information provided will not be released.
 
 
 
Southeast corner of 15th and E Streets, NW
 
I highly recommend that you visit the White House Visitor Center. It is open to the public and does not require reserved tours. The location is easy to find by looking for three American flags and the blue awnings. It is open seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and features many aspects of the White House, including its architecture, furnishings, first families, social events, and relations with the press and world leaders, as well as a 30-minute video. Allow between 20 minutes to one hour to explore the exhibits. The White House Historical Association also sponsors a sales area. Please note that restrooms are available, but food service is not.
 
For more information please click here.
Closest Metro: Federal Triangle or Metro Center
 
 
 
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
  
This is a self-guided tour of the East Wing of the White House.
 
Approximately 1500 passes are available and all 535 Congressional offices are competing for those spots: this tour is extremely difficult to obtain especially around Holidays and during spring and summer vacation months. The White House schedules tours on a first come, first served basis. They accept requests from my office up to six months in advance and no less than 40 days in advance. Any requests submitted less than 40 days before travel are not likely to be entertained by the White House Visitors Office. My office may have trouble responding to any requests submitted less than 40 days before travel.
 
Requesting this tour is a formal two-step application process. Step 1 is an online Tour Request Form that tells us your travel dates and how best to contact you for tour confirmation. Step 2 is the required security roster that should list background check information for every tour participant (regardless of your security clearance level). You have several options for submitting the security roster. Please feel free to call my tour coordinator with any questions you may have about this process.
 
Planning an itinerary around your potential White House tour. The White House Visitors’ Office waits for the President’s schedule to be drafted before they can determine whether tours will be available. The President’s schedule is usually sent to them a month in advance, but never with more advance notice. Please note that approval of a White House tour is typically sent to my office 14 days before the date of the confirmed tour. However, my office has also received as little as 48 hours notice before a confirmed tour. If your request is approved, a confirmation will be emailed to you (or faxed or phoned if you indicate that your internet access is limited) as soon as possible. My office will attempt to email everyone regardless of tour approval or denial.
 
Please keep in mind that our office has no control over the time of day you will be given for your tour. If your time in Washington is limited, and you would like some basis around which to plan other activities, please keep in mind that White House tours are only available Tuesdays – Saturdays. The current administration has limited tour times to the following:
 
Tuesday - Thursday:   first tour starts at 7:30am
                                 the last tour starts at 11am
 
Fridays:                     first tour starts at 7:30am
                                 the last tour starts at 12pm
 
Saturdays:                 first tour starts at 7:30am
                                 the last tour starts at 1pm
 
Mondays and Sundays there are no White House tours.
 
If the First Family is not scheduled to be present in the Residence, this may rarely lead to extended evening tour hours.
 
I understand that it is hard to schedule tours of other attractions for days and times that definitely won’t conflict with your potential White House tour. However, if you try to schedule everything else during your visit for a Monday, or the afternoons, you can generally avoid any conflict (White House tours aren’t available on Mondays and usually take place during morning hours. There are plenty of attractions and museums in the area that do not require appointments and which can fill in the other mornings of your visit-- and most attractions that require an appointment are understanding about the inflexibility of a White House tour and may reschedule if there is a conflict.
 
The ‘Plan Your Trip’ page of my website has a lot of information about several public attractions you can visit during your trip. Many attractions allow people to tour on a walk-in basis and many attractions allow large groups to make their own reservations. As my office's resources allow, I am happy to request tours of the White House and make reservations for large groups to tour the Capitol. However, if an attraction allows you to make reservations on your own, I ask that you please do so.

We are happy to work around your itinerary, so please keep us updated if you make other plans during your visit to Washington DC. Also, please let us know if you have contacted any other Congressional offices with a tour request so that we can work together to avoid scheduling conflicts and double bookings. 
 
The White House will be closed for federal holidays and occasionally for diplomatic events. Tour schedules are always dependent on official events taking place in the White House. Occasionally, it may be necessary to deviate from the regular tour schedule, or reschedule a tour. See below for a list of dates the White House has closed to tours in the past to get an idea of whether the White House will be open during your visit (but it never hurts to ask anyway!).
  
White House tours can occur as early as 7:30am. We always request tours for late morning to try to accommodate those who stay outside of the city during their visit. However, the White House does not always accommodate this request. Please be prepared to come into town early for tours.
 
 
TIPS FOR FILLING OUT THE TOUR REQUEST FORM
 
  • DO NOT fill out the tour request form unless you have concrete plans to visit Washington DC and you have either committed to a plane ticket, a train ticket, a hotel room or other definite plan.
    • Changes to the information you provide on your tour request form are not easily made. If you give us approximate dates and later purchase plane tickets for different dates, then chances are good that tours already scheduled for you will have to be cancelled, and attractions may have filled up in the interim.
    • This also means that if your travel plans change you will need to fill out a new Tour Request Form, as well as notify my office of the cancellation of your previously submitted Tour Request Form. The first-come, first-served status will apply to your most recently submitted form.
  • The same applies to increasing the number in your group. It is impossible to "just add" one person. Acceptance or denial of the requests we submit on your behalf are based on fire codes and availability.
    • Additions to your group will be treated as a new request. You will need to fill out a new Tour Request Form, as well as notify my office of the cancellation of your previously submitted Tour Request Form. The first-come, first-served status will apply to your most recently submitted form.
    • If you are unsure whether someone is able to make it, for whatever reason, it is better to submit their security information anyway. There is no penalty for their absence on the date of your tour. The rest of your group will be able to go through without a problem.
  • When listing your ARRIVAL and DEPARTURE dates on the Tour Request Form, please list TRAVEL days only. No tours will be scheduled on your ARRIVAL or DEPARTURE dates listed on the form.
    • The White House Visitors Office will assume that you are available for any and all of the tour dates and times between (but not including) your dates of ARRIVAL and DEPARTURE on the Tour Request Form. If you have any time constraints during your visit, please make a note of them.
  • When you submit the form properly, the next webpage you will see bears a message informing you that we have received your request. If you do not see this message, you have not submitted properly and you should try again.
    • The 'preview' button is just showing you a preview of what you are sending to us. At the bottom of the preview page is the actual 'submit' button.
    • Please print not only the preview page of your tour request form, but also the message saying we received your tour request, and keep these for your records.  
  • We would like to know if you have contacted any other Congressional offices with a tour request so that we can work together to avoid scheduling conflicts and double bookings.
    • Submitting requests to several different Congressional offices does not increase your chances of getting tours approved. It only decreases your neighbor's chance of getting a tour approved.
 
Application for a White House tour is a formal two-step process. 
 
 
 
 
STEP 2:  AFTER you submit a tour request form, we MUST receive your security information as soon as possible for the required background checks. The White House security roster (found in the paragraph below) is different from the Pentagon security roster. If you do not wish to disclose this information, the White House will not accept your tour request.
 
To save and send the White House security roster to my office:
  • Please do this only AFTER submitting the Tour Request Form above.
  • Then, please open the security roster [available here as an Excel (preferred) or Word (if you aren't familiar with excel) document] and "Save As" to your computer (somewhere that you will be able to quickly find it later: maybe on your "desktop" or in "my documents").
  • Rename it as the surname of the contact person listed on the Tour Request Form you submitted.
  • Fill out the roster with the requested information for every guest.
  • Then "Save" the roster again.
  • You can send this information to my tour coordinator via email (as an attachment) or via fax (202-228-3995).
  • In the subject line of the email and/or fax, please indicate the surname given on the Tour Request Form submitted and refer to the month and year of the requested tour dates.
If you cannot access the security roster documents from the links provided, please send the following information for everyone planning to attend the tour:
  • First Name, Full Middle Name, Last Name (must be verified by the photo ID you bring with you on the tour)
  • Date of Birth
  • Social Security Number
  • Whether or not they are a U.S. Citizen (green card holders should answer NO)
  • Country of Citizenship
  • City & State of Current Residence
  • Gender
  • If anyone planning to attend the tour is not a U.S. citizen (this includes permanent residents and legal immigrants awaiting citizenship), please include their passport information.
Alternatively, you may also call us with this information (202-224-7125).
The voicemail for this number is purposefully full because we would prefer to speak to you in person and do not wish to have your sensitive information stored there.
The DC office is open 9am – 5pm EST, Monday – Friday.
 
For more information about White House tours, including items prohibited on your tour, please call the 24-hour Tour Information Line (202) 456-7041 or click here.
 
Closest Metro: McPherson Square (blue & orange), Metro Center (blue, orange & red), Farragut West (blue & orange), or Federal Triangle (blue & orange)
Cab: ask for 15th and E streets NW
 
 
Please note that no storage facilities are available on or around the complex. It is highly recommended that you either leave items in your hotel room or car while visiting the White House. Individuals who arrive with prohibited items will not be permitted to enter the White House. 
 
There is a baggage storage room, with attendants, available to the public at Union Station for a fee. Open 6am-10pm. Located at Gate A (next to the MARC info counter). For more information please call them directly at 202-898-1592.
 
 
MEDICATION
All necessary medications must be identified and remain in the custody of an adult chaperone or contact for the entire tour. 
 
 
TOUR CANCELLATIONS AND LATE ARRIVALS
White House tours are always subject to last minute cancellation. A day before your tour, please call the White House Visitors Office 24-hour information line at (202) 456-7041 for the most current information about your White House tour.
 
You should arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled tour time. Late arrivals will not be accommodated.
 
 
WHITE HOUSE TOUR CANCELLATIONS IN 2009 (Partial list)
January 1 - February 14 : White House closed to tours for Inauguration
February 3, 5, 7, 14, 21, 28
March 4, 11
April 18 : Spring Garden tour
July 3, 4 : National Holiday
October 17 : Fall Garden tour
October 31 : Official Events
November 24 - December 1 : Thanksgiving Holiday and Christmas Decorating
December 24, 2009 - January 4, 2010 : Christmas and New Years Holiday