How to Get a Child’s Passport Without the Father’s Consent

Federal rules require both parents to sign for a child under 16 to get a U.S. passport, but there are established ways to get a child’s passport without the father’s consent when he is uncooperative, unreachable, incarcerated, deceased, or no longer a legal parent. Which path you take depends on your situation. If he is willing to sign but can’t come to the appointment, a notarized form solves it. If you already hold sole legal authority, you can apply on your own. If he is out of reach entirely, a special-circumstances statement lets a passport officer review your case and issue anyway.

Why the Two-Parent Rule Exists

The consent requirement is meant to prevent international parental child abduction. Both parents or legal guardians must sign the application for any child under 16, regardless of marital status, and both are expected to appear in person with the child at the acceptance facility.¹² The State Department built exceptions into that rule, and the rest of this article walks through them.

If the Father Will Sign but Can’t Appear

This is the easiest situation. The father completes Form DS-3053, Statement of Consent, and signs it in front of a notary public. You bring the notarized form and a photocopy of the front and back of his government-issued ID to the child’s appointment.²

One detail trips people up. The notarized DS-3053 is valid for only 90 days from the date of the notary’s signature. If you don’t submit the passport application inside that window, the father has to sign a fresh one.³ Don’t have him sign months in advance.

If You Have Sole Legal Authority

When you can document that you are the child’s only legal parent or sole legal custodian, you can apply without the father’s involvement at all. The State Department accepts any of the following as proof:¹

A court order granting you sole legal custody, or one that specifically authorizes you to obtain a passport for the child. Sole physical custody is not the same thing and may not be enough by itself.
The child’s certified birth certificate, if the father is not listed on it.
An adoption decree that names you as the only parent.
A certified copy of the father’s death certificate.
A court order terminating the father’s parental rights, or declaring him legally incompetent.

Bring the original or a certified copy. The acceptance agent reviews it at the appointment and returns it to you by mail, separately from the finished passport.

Joint Custody Is Not Sole Custody

This catches a lot of parents. If your custody order says “joint legal custody,” or requires both parents’ agreement on major decisions, the State Department reads that as requiring both parents to consent to the passport.¹ It doesn’t matter whether the child lives with you full-time. Showing up at the acceptance facility with a joint-custody order and no father present will not work.

If you have joint custody and the father won’t cooperate, you have two realistic options: go back to family court for an order that specifically authorizes the passport, or apply under the special family circumstances exception below.

If the Father Is Missing, Incarcerated, or Otherwise Unreachable

When you don’t have sole legal authority and can’t get consent, you can still apply by submitting Form DS-5525, Statement of Exigent/Special Family Circumstances, with the application.⁴ The regulation covers situations where family dynamics make it exceptionally difficult for one parent to sign, or where the child’s health, safety, or welfare would suffer without a passport.¹ Common qualifying situations include:

The father’s whereabouts are unknown. Describe when you last had contact, what you’ve done to find him, and why those efforts didn’t work.
The father is incarcerated. Attach a letter from the convicting court, a copy of the incarceration order, or a printout from an online inmate locator.⁴
He has been absent long-term with no contact. Explain the timeline and attach anything supporting it, such as police reports, court records, or statements from people who can confirm the absence.

Be thorough. “I haven’t seen him in a while” will not carry the application. Give specific dates, list every attempt to reach him, and attach every piece of supporting paperwork you can. A senior passport authorizing officer reviews each DS-5525 individually, and more evidence means a stronger case.¹

A passport issued under special family circumstances may be limited to direct return travel to the United States rather than being a full unrestricted passport. The State Department decides that case by case.

Check Whether the Father Enrolled Your Child in the Alert Program

Even if you clearly qualify under one of the paths above, the father may have signed your child up for the Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program, a free State Department service that notifies an enrolling parent whenever anyone applies for a passport for that child.⁵

If the child is enrolled, the State Department will contact the father when your application comes in and verify that the required consent has been given. Enrollment does not block issuance on its own. If you have legitimate sole authority or a valid DS-5525, the passport should still be issued, but expect closer scrutiny and added time.

What to Bring to the Appointment

Every first-time child passport application has to be submitted in person, and both you and the child must be present. Missing a single item can mean starting over. Bring:

Form DS-11, filled out but unsigned. You sign it in front of the acceptance agent.²
Proof of the child’s U.S. citizenship, usually a certified birth certificate with a raised seal. It also establishes your parental relationship if your name appears on it.
Your government-issued photo ID and a photocopy of both sides.
One 2×2 inch passport photo, white or off-white background, no eyeglasses, neutral expression. All children except infants must have both eyes open.⁶
Whichever consent-exception document fits your situation: notarized DS-3053, sole-authority document, or completed DS-5525 with supporting evidence.
Payment for the fees, described below.

Acceptance facilities are located at many U.S. Post Offices, public libraries, and local government offices. Most require an appointment, so call ahead. The agent will verify identity, place you under oath, and have you sign the DS-11. Original documents are mailed back separately from the passport. A passport issued to a child under 16 is valid for five years.²

Fees and Processing Time

You pay two separate fees at the appointment: the State Department application fee and the acceptance facility’s processing fee. Current amounts for a child under 16:⁷

Passport book only: $100 application fee plus $35 facility fee, $135 total.
Passport card only: $15 application fee plus $35 facility fee, $50 total.
Both book and card: $115 application fee plus $35 facility fee, $150 total.

Expedited processing adds $60, and 1-to-3-day delivery of the finished passport adds $22.05. Pay the application fee by check or money order made out to “U.S. Department of State,” with your child’s name and date of birth in the memo line. The facility fee is paid separately to the acceptance location, and payment methods vary, so call to confirm.⁷

Routine processing currently takes four to six weeks; expedited processing takes two to three weeks. Neither figure includes mailing time.⁸ Applications filed with a DS-5525 can take longer because a senior officer must review them individually. Do not book travel until the passport is in your hand.

If Your Child Is 16 or 17

The two-parent consent rule applies only to children under 16. For a 16- or 17-year-old, only one parent needs to show awareness that the child is applying, which can be shown in any of these ways:⁹

One parent appears with the child at the appointment and signs the DS-11.
The child brings a signed note from a parent and a photocopy of that parent’s ID.
The child submits a check or money order for the fees bearing a parent’s name.

The father’s consent is not required at this age. If the child is enrolled in the Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program, the State Department will still notify the enrolling parent before issuing the passport.⁹