Standard and TSA PreCheck® Screening As you know, standard screening requires that you remove all items and place them on the X-ray belt for screening. With TSA PreCheck®, you are able to speed through security and don't need to remove your shoes, laptops, liquids, belts and light jackets.

No, the TSA does not take everything out of your carry-on, but the specific items you must remove depend on the type of screening equipment used at your specific lane. In standard screening lanes, you are still required to remove large electronics (laptops, tablets, and gaming consoles) and your 3-1-1 liquids bag, placing them in separate bins to give X-ray operators a clear view. However, at many major airports in 2026, the TSA has rolled out CT (Computed Tomography) scanners. These advanced machines create a 3D image of your bag’s contents, allowing you to leave everything, including your laptop and liquids, inside your carry-on. If you have TSA PreCheck, you rarely have to remove anything at all, regardless of the machine type. Despite these advancements, a TSA officer may still perform a "secondary bag search" if an item looks suspicious or if the bag is so densely packed that the X-ray cannot penetrate it. To ensure a fast process, it is best to pack in "layers"—clothes on the bottom, electronics in the middle, and liquids on top—so that if a manual search is required, it can be done quickly and efficiently.