The Transportation Security Admi-nistration has given the green light for passengers to sign up in advance for the national Registered Traveler (RT) program.

Advance registration is different than actual enrollment, said TSA spokeswoman Amy Kudwa. "Enrollment involves the transmission of an applicant's data in order for TSA to conduct its responsibilities for the program, while under advance registration, personal information may be collected and stored by a private-sector service provider, and that information is not transmitted to TSA," she explained. "Advance registration is not considered enrollment in the RT program."

Advance registration does not mean a vendor will be accepted into the program, said Kudwa. "Once a company is approved to enroll applicants for participation in RT, those companies will reconfirm the accuracy of information, ensure that [applicants] still wish to apply for RT, and fulfill any other requirements needed to meet with TSA's RT standards," she said.

Verified Identity Pass currently runs the Clear RT program in Orlando and will begin signing up customers for the Clear card at San Jose, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and JFK Airport's Terminal 7 in conjunction with British Airways. TSA has worked for more than a year to establish rules and processes to roll out a national program. It is expected to launch RT in the fall.

Verified ID is doing a full push to get people to do advanced enrollment online, company CEO Steven Brill told The DAILY. "We hope to have the lanes up and running in mid-October, depending on TSA. But we have every reason to believe that we're all on the same schedule." Verified ID expects to announce several more airports and up to three more airline partners by the end of the month, he added.

TSA should be praised for moving RT forward, said Luke Thomas, VP-registered travel for Kirkland, Wash.-based Saflink, a founding partner of the Fast Lane Option (FLO) RT program. "But one thing that's disconcerting is there are no qualifications out there for vendors. It's not meaningful until vendors are certified by TSA," he said. "We want to see more controls, so that not just anyone can start signing people up. If the advance numbers go up, it puts more pressure on TSA to expand the program."FLO has not signed up any airports.

TSA continues to work diligently on the RT program and the finalization of business standards, said Kudwa. However, given the current elevated threat level in the aviation sector, our emphasis must be on mission-critical policies and program. The full attention of this agency is focused on ensuring the transportation sector remains secure," she noted.