Children's Passports

Note: Effective Feb 1, 2004, all minors must appear in person to apply for a passport. This means the parent(s) must take the child with them to the passport acceptance office.

What do I need to know about applying for a passport for my child?

What should I take with me to the passport application office?

How does the State Dept know that both parents have given permission?

What if one parent is unavailable to go into the passport acceptance office with the other?

I am divorced or living apart from my child's other parent, and I am afraid that parent will forge my signature on the application, then take our child out of the country. Is there any way I can prevent this?

Does the child sign the application or the passport itself? What if the child is too young to write?

Once I have the passport for my child, am I set to go?

My child is over the age of 16. Do I have to go with him or her to apply for a passport?

Can I put my child on my passport? I've seen that in the past.

What do I need to know about applying for a passport for my child?

A young person aged 16 or 17 years may apply for the passport without an accompanying parent, however the State Dept reserves the right to confirm that at least one parent approves of the passport application. In order to minimize delays in passport issuance to a minor who is 16 or 17, a parent should accompany the applicant into the office. Bear in mind the young person applying unaccompanied must have their own photo identification, such as a drivers license, as well as proof of citizenship. If such photo ID is not available, then the parent must accompany the young person with their own ID.

Permission from both parents for passport issuance has been required since mid-2001 by Federal Law. This is in response to the growing problem of international child abduction.

What should I take with me to the passport application office?

You will need:

• Your child's birth certificate. This should be a certified, "long form", copy from the state where the child was born. If the child is a naturalized US citizen, then naturalization papers should be presented. If the child was born outside the United States to at least one American parent, then a Consular Report of Birth Abroad listing the child's and parent(s)'s names is required.
• Your own identification, such as your own passport (even if it is from another country) or your drivers license. If both parents go to apply together, both should carry their photo ID.
• Evidence of the absent parent's permission or sole custody, if one parent is applying for the passport.. DS-3053 should be filled out and notarized.
• The DS-11 application form. Fill it out but do not sign it until requested by the passport acceptance officer. The child's signature is required if he or she is older than 14 years.
• Two passport photos of your child. Save yourself some grief and get proper photos made at a professional photographer that is set up for passport photos. If you submit your own photos, or school photos, they could be rejected. (Several web visitors have reported this problem to me.) Good places to get passport photos include the Auto Club, FedEx Kinko's or various local one-hour photo or copy shops.
• Your checkbook. Depending on the passport acceptance office, you may be required to write two separate checks. The total fee for a minor's passport is now $82.

Your child must accompany you. This is a new requirement, effect Feb 1, 2004.

How does the State Dept know that both parents have given permission?

The passport application form has a signature box for both parents' signatures. Perhaps the most straightforward way is for the child's mother and father to go to the passport acceptance office together, with the child's birth certificate and their own identification. Both will sign in the presense of the passport acceptance officer and the application should be cleared for processing.

What if one parent is unavailable to go into the passport acceptance office with the other?

There are several options:

• The absent parent can fill out and sign DS-3053, "Statement of Consent". Part "4a" is for the situation of an absent parent being unable to accompany the applying parent into the passport acceptance office. The signature must be notarized.
• The applying parent can fill out and sign DS-3053, part "4b" explaining any special circumstances regarding the non-availibility of the absent parent. This should be done when the absent parent has died, when the applying parent has sole custody or when there is a legal guardianship established. The applying parent should take evidence of this sole custody to the passport acceptance office. Please see the State Dept's page Special Requirements for Children Under Age 14 for full information.
• If only the mother's name is listed on the child's birth certificate, then only the mother need apply.

I am divorced or living apart from my child's other parent, and I am afraid that the other parent will forge my signature on the application, then take our child out of the country. Is there any way I can prevent this?

Yes. You can place your child's name in a Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program (CPIAP) namecheck system. If the other parent applies for a passport, you will be informed. If you can prove, legally, that you have sole custody or that a court has denied the child travel without the permission of both parents, the issuance of a passport can be blocked. Please see the State Dept's page on Assistance to Parents for complete information, address and phone numbers. The State Dept's Office of Children's Issues is the place to go for more information on the subject of suspected plans for child abduction.

In addition, the State Dept has a new requirement, effective Feb 1, 2004, that requires minors to appear in person at the passport acceptance office. This means that a non-custodial parent cannot apply for the child's passport without the physical presence of the child.

Does the child sign the application or the passport itself? What if the child is too young to write?

The child's signature is required on the passport application if the child is over the age of 14. This is a security measure, since is it common for teenagers to travel with school groups or otherwise without their parents. If the child's passport is lost, the child's signature is on file to expedite replacement.

Once the passport is delivered, the child should sign it in the appropriate place. If the child is too young to write, then one parent prints the child's name, then signs their own name, adding "(mother)" or "(father)" as appropriate.

Once I have the passport for my child, am I set to go?

Not quite. If you are traveling without the child's other parent, then you might need notarized absent-parent permission to enter the destination country. The requirements vary from nation to nation, so you should check with the embassy or consulate of your destination country. There are sad stories out there about vacations getting ruined because a mother or father didn't have the other parent's permission at the airline ticket check in desk. Most of the airlines know of these entry requirements and will not let you board the aircraft without the proper documentation. Save yourself some grief: Check before you go.

My child is over the age of 16. Do I have to go with him or her to apply for a passport?

The answer is a "Definite Maybe". If the young person has his or her own photo, government-issued ID such as a drivers license, then usually the applicant need not go in with a parent. If the drivers license is recently issued or if the young person does not yet have a drivers license, then the parent may be required to vouch for the young person's identification.

The State Department reserves the right to require parental permission for issuance of a passport to a minor under the age of 18.

A young person between the ages of 16 and 18 years may be under court-ordered custodial arrangments, in which case parental permission may be required.

Can I put my child on my passport? I've seen that in the past.

True, in earlier years children were often added to parents' passports in the "Amendments" sections under the assumption that children would never travel without the parent.

This is no longer permitted, for several reasons. The parent could become sick or injured and the family might make a decision to send the children home with the other parent or with a trusted friend or relative. It is now more difficult to get passports issued overseas, as the State Dept has integrated new and improved security features in passports, and passports are prepared only in the United States. The State Dept has long experience with family emergencies overseas necessitating expedited issuance of passports to children. For that reason, they no longer allow children to be added as amendments to their parents' passports.

Updated 11/09/07