Yes, a legal guardian can get a U.S. passport for a child, but only with a certified court order proving the guardianship. The State Department will not accept a notarized letter, a power of attorney, or a document that grants only medical or educational authority. Bring the right court order and the standard child-passport paperwork, apply in person, and pay $135 for a passport book that stays valid for five years.1U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Child’s Passport Under 16
What the Court Order Has to Say
You need an original or certified copy of the court order that names you as the child’s legal guardian, with the issuing court’s seal or stamp. Informal arrangements do not qualify.1U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Child’s Passport Under 16
The wording inside the order decides whether you can apply on your own or whether the child’s parents still have to sign off. Under federal regulation, an order granting you sole legal custody, or one that specifically authorizes you to obtain a passport, lets you apply without the parents. An order providing for joint legal custody, or requiring both parents’ permission for major decisions, is read to mean both parents (or the court) must approve the passport.2eCFR. 22 CFR 51.28 – Minors
If your guardianship case is still open, ask the court to include explicit passport and travel authority in the order. Adding that language up front avoids problems later.
Documents to Bring to the Appointment
Acceptance agents cannot process an incomplete application, so gather everything before you go:
- Form DS-11, filled out but unsigned. You sign it under oath at the facility.3U.S. Department of State. Application for a U.S. Passport
- The certified court order naming you as guardian, plus a photocopy. Plain photocopies without a court seal are rejected.
- The child’s proof of U.S. citizenship, typically a certified U.S. birth certificate, plus a photocopy. A prior U.S. passport, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Citizenship also works.
- Your valid government-issued photo ID, plus a photocopy of both sides.
- One 2×2 inch color passport photo of the child, taken within the last six months, against a white or off-white background, with no eyeglasses.4U.S. Department of State. U.S. Passport Photos
When You Still Need the Parents’ Consent
The default rule for children under 16 is that both parents or all legal guardians must appear in person and approve the application.1U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Child’s Passport Under 16 Whether that also pulls in the biological parents depends on your court order.
You can apply without parental consent if the order:
- Grants you sole legal custody with no travel restrictions that conflict with passport issuance,
- Specifically authorizes you to obtain a passport for the child, or
- Documents that parental rights have been terminated or that the non-applying parent has been declared incompetent.2eCFR. 22 CFR 51.28 – Minors
If none of those clearly applies, plan on getting written consent from the parents. A parent who cannot attend the appointment can sign Form DS-3053, Statement of Consent, in front of a notary, and you submit that form with the application.5U.S. Department of State. DS-3053 – Statement of Consent: U.S. Passport Issuance to a Child
When a Parent Can’t Be Found
If parental rights haven’t been terminated and you cannot reach a parent to sign, submit Form DS-5525, Statement of Exigent/Special Family Circumstances, explaining why consent was not obtained.6U.S. Department of State. Statement of Exigent/Special Family Circumstances for Issuance of a U.S. Passport to a Child Under Age 16
Document real efforts to make contact by mail, phone, email, and social media, including how many times you tried, the approximate dates, and the result of each attempt. If you reached out through a relative or mutual acquaintance, include that person’s relationship to the parent. Vague answers slow the review down; detailed answers speed it up.
If the missing parent is incarcerated, you can submit a letter from the convicting court, a copy of the incarceration order, or a printout from an online inmate locator in place of the contact attempts.
Applying in Person
Every passport for a child under 16 has to be submitted in person on Form DS-11. There is no mail-in renewal for children’s passports. You start fresh each time, and you and the child both have to be there together at a passport acceptance facility, usually a post office or public library.1U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Child’s Passport Under 16
Most facilities require appointments. USPS locations schedule through an online system, a lobby kiosk, or the retail counter.7USPS.com. Passports Some locations take walk-ins, but availability is unpredictable. You can search for nearby facilities using the State Department’s locator at iafdb.travel.state.gov. At the appointment, the acceptance agent reviews your documents, verifies your identity, administers an oath, watches you sign the DS-11, seals everything into a packet, and mails it for processing.
Fees, Processing Times, and How Long the Passport Lasts
For a child under 16, you pay two fees at application:8U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
- Passport book: $100 to the State Department plus a $35 acceptance fee, for $135 total.
- Passport card: $15 plus the $35 acceptance fee, for $50 total.
- Both book and card: $115 plus the $35 acceptance fee, for $150 total.
Children’s passports are valid for five years, not ten.1U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Child’s Passport Under 16 Keep your court order and supporting documents together, because you’ll use them again.
Routine processing runs four to six weeks and expedited service runs two to three weeks for an extra $60, with up to two weeks of mailing time in each direction on top of that.9U.S. Department of State. Processing Times for U.S. Passports
Crossing a Border With the Child
The passport alone is often not enough for international travel. The U.S. does not legally require guardians to show proof of parental permission when leaving, but many destination countries do.10U.S. Department of State. Travel With Minors
Carry a copy of the guardianship court order and the child’s birth certificate. If the parents are alive and their rights are intact, a notarized consent letter from one or both parents is strongly recommended. The letter should be in English, name the traveling adult, and state that the parents permit the child to travel internationally.11USAGov. International Travel Documents for Children Check with the embassy or consulate of your destination before booking, because some countries want specific notarized forms or translated documents.