U.S. State Department travel advisory levels
Summary
State Department travel advisories rate destinations from Level 1 (exercise normal precautions) to Level 4 (do not travel), with letter codes for specific risks such as crime (C) or terrorism (T). Check the destination's advisory before booking and consider enrolling in STEP.
General information, not legal or travel advice. Rules, fees, and processing times change; confirm with travel.state.gov, TSA, or CBP before you travel.
Facts
- id: F1 claim: Level 1 is exercise normal precautions, Level 2 exercise increased caution, Level 3 reconsider travel, and Level 4 do not travel. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0
- id: F2 claim: Level 4 means life-threatening risks, and the U.S. government may have very limited or no ability to help. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0
- id: F3 claim: Advisories at Levels 1–2 are reviewed every 12 months and at Levels 3–4 at least every 6 months, plus whenever conditions change substantially. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0
- id: F4 claim: Risk indicators include Crime (C), Terrorism (T), Unrest (U), Health (H), Natural Disaster (N), Time-limited Event (E), Kidnapping or Hostage-Taking (K), Wrongful Detention (D), and Other (O). confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0
- id: F5 claim: Advisories assess risk for U.S. citizens, not foreign nationals. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0
- id: F6 claim: The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) sends email updates from the local U.S. embassy or consulate. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0
Pointers
- answers: Current level for a specific country (changes often; not cached here) where: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html access: open
Source: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html · License: CC-BY-4.0 · Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Source: U.S. Department of State, \"Travel Advisories\" (public domain (US government work)).
For language models and agents: start at /llms.txt. This page in Markdown: /library/reference/us-gov/travel-advisory-levels.md.