Applying for a Child’s Passport with Sole Legal Authority

A parent who is the child’s only legal guardian can obtain a U.S. passport for that child without the other parent’s involvement. Applying for a child’s passport with sole legal authority uses the same Form DS-11 that every applicant under sixteen files, with one addition: you submit a document proving that you alone hold legal authority over the child. Federal regulation 22 CFR § 51.28 sets out this exception to the usual two-parent consent rule, which exists to guard against international parental abduction.¹

Documents That Prove Sole Legal Authority

The State Department accepts several forms of evidence that one parent has legal responsibility for the child. Any document you submit must be an original or a certified copy.²

A U.S. or foreign birth certificate listing only the applying parent.¹
An adoption decree naming only the applying parent.¹
A certified court order granting sole legal custody. The order must not contain travel restrictions that conflict with passport issuance. A court order that specifically authorizes the applying parent to obtain a passport or travel with the child also works, regardless of the broader custody arrangement.¹
A court order terminating the other parent’s parental rights.¹
A judicial declaration that the other parent is legally incompetent.¹
A certified death certificate for the other parent.¹

If any document is in a foreign language, include a certified English translation. The translator must certify in writing that the translation is complete and accurate, and include their name, signature, address, and the date of certification.

When You Cannot Reach the Other Parent

Not every single-parent situation comes with a clean court order. If the other parent has disappeared, is unreachable, or is otherwise impossible to contact, there is a separate path through Form DS-5525, the Statement of Exigent/Special Family Circumstances. This form does not establish sole legal authority the way a custody order does. It asks the State Department to issue the passport despite the absence of the second parent’s consent.³

The State Department recognizes two categories on this form. An exigent circumstance is a time-sensitive emergency where not getting the passport would jeopardize the child’s health, welfare, or safety, or would separate the child from a traveling party. A special family circumstance covers situations where family dynamics make obtaining the other parent’s consent exceptionally difficult or impossible.³

The form is where most of these applications succeed or stall. You need to document a genuine effort to find and contact the other parent. It asks when your last communication occurred, how many times you tried to reach them by phone, email, mail, and social media, and the result of each attempt. It also asks whether you contacted the other parent’s friends or relatives, including their names, relationship, and what they told you. More detail means faster processing.³

If the Other Parent Is Incarcerated

An incarcerated parent does not automatically put you on the DS-5525 path. If the parent can receive mail, speak with a notary, or otherwise communicate from the facility, the State Department expects you to obtain their written consent using Form DS-3053 instead.³ DS-5525 is for parents who are genuinely unreachable, such as those held in solitary confinement, barred from receiving mail, or imprisoned overseas without notary access.

When you do use DS-5525 for an incarcerated parent, provide evidence of the incarceration. Acceptable proof includes a letter from the convicting court, a copy of the incarceration order, or a printout from an online inmate locator.³

If the Other Parent Is Cooperative but Absent

Before pursuing sole-authority documentation, check whether the other parent will simply sign. If they are willing but cannot appear at the acceptance facility in person, you do not need to prove sole legal authority at all. Form DS-3053, the Statement of Consent, lets the absent parent provide notarized written consent, which you then submit with the application. The notarized consent is valid for 90 days.⁴ That avoids the need for a court order entirely.

Completing Form DS-11 and Gathering the Rest

Every applicant under sixteen uses Form DS-11, whether one parent or two are applying. Fill it out by hand in black ink, or complete it online and print it. Do not sign the form at home. You sign it in front of an authorized official at the acceptance facility.²

Lying on the application is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1542. For a straightforward false statement not connected to terrorism or drug trafficking, the penalty is up to ten years in prison and a fine. The stakes climb to twenty or twenty-five years when the fraud facilitates drug trafficking or international terrorism.⁵ This matters especially in sole-authority applications, where misrepresenting custody status or the other parent’s whereabouts can trigger prosecution on top of a denied passport.

Along with the completed DS-11, bring:

Proof of the child’s citizenship: an original or certified birth certificate, a previous U.S. passport, or a Consular Report of Birth Abroad.
Your valid government-issued photo ID and photocopies of both sides.
The original or certified copy of the sole-authority document you’re relying on.
One passport photo, exactly two inches by two inches, with a plain white or off-white background. The child faces the camera with a neutral expression, eyes open, no eyeglasses. If the child cannot remove glasses for medical reasons, include a signed note from the doctor. For infants, the rules are more lenient: it is acceptable if the baby’s eyes are not fully open, and you can lay the baby on a plain white sheet or drape one over a car seat.⁶

What You’ll Pay

For a minor under sixteen, there are two separate payments. You can apply for a passport book, a passport card, or both on the same DS-11.⁷

Passport book: $100 application fee to the Department of State, plus a $35 execution fee to the acceptance facility.⁸
Passport card: $15 application fee plus the same $35 execution fee.⁸
Expedited processing: an additional $60 per application.⁸

The application fee is typically paid by personal check or money order made out to the U.S. Department of State. The execution fee goes directly to the acceptance facility, and accepted payment methods vary by location. Bring two forms of payment.

A passport card works only for land and sea travel between the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. It cannot be used for international air travel. If the child might fly internationally, apply for the book.

Submitting the Application

Both the child and the applying parent must appear together at an authorized passport acceptance facility. These include post offices, public libraries, clerks of court, and other local government offices.² You can find the nearest facility using the State Department’s online locator at iafdb.travel.state.gov.

At the facility, an authorized official reviews your documents, watches you sign the DS-11 under oath, and verifies the child’s identity. The official collects the fees and seals the application package for mailing to the State Department. Your original citizenship and sole-authority documents travel with the application and are returned separately by mail after processing.

Processing and Validity

As of early 2026, routine passport processing takes four to six weeks, and expedited processing takes two to three weeks. These timeframes cover the time the application spends at a passport agency or center, not mailing in either direction.⁹ If you have international travel within fourteen calendar days, you can make an appointment at a regional passport agency for urgent processing.

Sole-authority applications sometimes take longer than standard two-parent applications, because the agency reviews the supporting documents more thoroughly. If something is insufficient, the State Department will send a letter or email asking for more information. You have 90 days to respond before the application is delayed further or denied.¹⁰

One detail that catches parents off guard: a minor’s passport is valid for only five years, not the ten years an adult passport carries.² You will go through this process again before the child turns sixteen, though a renewal is often simpler if your custody situation has not changed.

1
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.28 – Minors
2
U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Child’s Passport Under 16
3
U.S. Department of State. Form DS-5525 – Statement of Exigent/Special Family Circumstances
4
U.S. Department of State. Form DS-3053 – Statement of Consent for U.S. Passport Issuance
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1542 – False Statement in Application and Use of Passport
6
U.S. Department of State. U.S. Passport Photos
7
U.S. Department of State. Get a Passport Card
8
U.S. Department of State. Passport Fee Chart
9
U.S. Department of State. Processing Times for U.S. Passports
10
U.S. Department of State. Respond to a Passport Letter or Email