Where to Meet Your Driver at SFO International Arrivals

At SFO international arrivals, you meet your driver at the exit from U.S. Customs, on the Arrivals Level of the Dianne Feinstein International Terminal. After passport control and baggage claim, walk out through the doors marked "San Francisco" into the International Arrivals Meeting Area. Your iBlack chauffeur waits there with a name board.

This guide walks the route from the aircraft door to the car, covers the flights that skip customs at SFO, and explains what to do if your plans change on the way in.

SFO sets two ground rules on its Meeting Points page. Arriving passengers can't be met at the gate, because of security restrictions, and vehicles aren't allowed to wait at the curb. For the International Terminal, the airport's suggested meeting place is the U.S. Customs and Immigration exit in the Arrivals Level Lobby, where there is a signed Meeting Point.

That is where we meet international arrivals. Your chauffeur parks, walks into the terminal and stands at the customs exit with your name on a board, so you see them as you come through the doors. They take your bags and walk you to the car. The full service is described on our SFO airport transfers page.

Prefer the curb? Note it on your reservation and we will plan a curbside pickup. Keep SFO's pickup rules in mind: the curb is for active pickup only, and the person being met has to be outside before the car pulls up. In practice that means a call to your chauffeur once you have your bags, then a short wait outside while the car comes round.

SFO's International Arrivals page lays out the order. It runs the same way for every international flight that lands without preclearance.

You complete U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) entry in the Federal Inspection Area. Have your passport ready and your app or form completed before you reach the officer (more on that below).

After immigration you collect your checked bags. Baggage carts are free for arriving passengers in the International Terminal. Porters in bright yellow vests carry bags for $3.00 per bag, and any uniformed official can call one for you.

If SFO is your final stop, leave the Federal Inspection Area through the doors marked "San Francisco." They open into the International Arrivals Meeting Area, where your chauffeur is waiting. The doors marked "Connecting Flights" are for passengers flying on, so skip them if you are heading into the Bay Area.

Some flights clear U.S. customs before they leave. CBP runs Preclearance at 16 locations in 6 countries: Dublin and Shannon in Ireland, Aruba, Bermuda, Abu Dhabi, Nassau, and ten Canadian airports including Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal. Travelers inspected there bypass CBP on arrival and go straight to their connection or destination.

If you land on one of these flights, the customs exit may not be on your route, and you would meet your chauffeur at the meeting point for the terminal where you arrive instead. SFO lists one for each:

• Harvey Milk Terminal 1, B Gates: seating areas near the B Gates exits
• Harvey Milk Terminal 1, C Gates: signed Meeting Point on the Departures/Ticketing Level, near the exits
• Terminal 2, D Gates: signed Meeting Point on the Departures/Ticketing Level, near the exits
• Terminal 3, E and F Gates: signed Meeting Point on the Arrivals/Baggage Claim Level, between Carousels 3 and 4
• International Terminal: signed Meeting Point at the U.S. Customs and Immigration exit, Arrivals Level Lobby

You don't need to work this out yourself. Book with your flight number, and we read the arrival terminal from the flight before your chauffeur leaves.

Processing times at SFO change by hour and by day. CBP publishes live and historical numbers for its busiest airports on its Airport Wait Times site, which is worth a look before you fly.

Two CBP programs can shorten your time in the Federal Inspection Area:

• Mobile Passport Control is a free app, and SFO is on CBP's list of airports that accept it. You take a selfie and answer the arrival questions on your phone, and you can send it up to 4 hours before landing. The submission stays active for 4 hours. One phone can carry a submission for up to 12 people traveling together. It is open to U.S. citizens, U.S. lawful permanent residents, Canadian B1/B2 visitors and returning Visa Waiver Program travelers with an approved ESTA.
• Global Entry costs $120 for a five-year membership and requires an application, a background check and fingerprints, according to the same CBP page.

We track every airport reservation live. If you land early or late, the pickup moves with the flight, and you don't have to call anyone. Every airport arrival includes 45 minutes of complimentary wait, and the clock starts when your flight actually lands. Customs and baggage claim never run a meter against you inside that window.

If the customs line looks long or a bag is missing, call dispatch at (888) 491-3088. It runs 24/7 and keeps your chauffeur updated.

• Stay inside the meeting area. Wait by the signed Meeting Point. Walking out to the curb makes you harder to find, and cars can't wait there.
• Check the doors you came through. If you took the "Connecting Flights" exit by mistake, ask a uniformed official for the way to the International Arrivals Meeting Area.
• Call dispatch. (888) 491-3088 is staffed 24/7, and dispatch can reach your chauffeur directly.

Send us your flight number when you book. You get one flat quote before you confirm, with tolls and the standard wait built in and gratuity left to you. From the terminal we go anywhere in the Bay Area: a direct point-to-point ride to your home, office or hotel, or an hourly charter if you are heading straight into a day of meetings. Our SFO service area page covers every terminal, domestic and international.

Flying out again soon? The SFO departure guide covers how early to arrive, and the SFO Thanksgiving travel guide covers the busiest days this holiday season.