Need a passport for your little one? Get ready for a comprehensive and detailed process. Over the few years, child passport requirements have increased to reduce child trafficking and abductions. However, the new requirements mean more work for the parents.
If you want your process to go without a hitch, here’s what you should do when you apply for a child’s passport.
Fill Out The DS-11 Application Form
You can fill out the application form online or download the form, print it, and fill it on paper. If you want to complete the form online, ensure a strong internet connection because a weak one may cause problems. If you have trouble filling it out online, download the form and fill it with blue or black ink. There are twenty-two questions on two pages, requiring information like emergency contact, travel plans, phone number, sex, place of birth, date, and full name.
Also, don’t sign the application until a representative from the passport office requests that you do so.
Gather Other Documents
After that, gather the supporting documents to include with your application like:
- One passport photograph
- Photocopy of identification documents
- Photo ID of guardian or parents of the child
- Proof of parental relationship or guardianship
- Child’s evidence of U.S. citizenship
For proof of parental relationship, you must provide a consular birth report from abroad of a United States citizen (FS-240), custody or divorce decree, adoption decree, foreign birth certificate, or U.S. birth certificate.
For evidence of U.S. citizenship, you must provide a certificate of citizenship, naturalization certificate, certified birth certification issued by the state, county, or city, or an old, undamaged United States passport.
Some Additional Documents That You May Need
If one of the parents or guardians can’t be located or has passed away, here’s other documentation you can submit:
- Death certificate of the non-applying parent
- Judicial incompetence of the non-applying parent
- Court order permitting applying parent’s travel with the child
- Court order relaying sole legal custody to the parent applying for the passport (the document will be invalid if the order restricts the child’s travel)
- S. or foreign birth certificate, adoption decree, or consular report of birth abroad, listing only the applying parent.
You can also submit a statement of consent form DS-3505 if a parent is unable to appear, and form DS-5525 if a parent or guardian is absent can cant be located.
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