Can a Sex Offender Get a Passport? Endorsement and 21-Day Notice

In most cases, yes, a registered sex offender can get a U.S. passport. If the underlying conviction involved a victim under 18 and you are currently required to register, federal law requires the State Department to print a visible identifier inside your passport book marking you as a covered sex offender. If your conviction involved an adult victim, no such endorsement is added. Either way, other issues can still block an application, and every registered offender has to give advance notice before leaving the country.

When the Passport Carries an Endorsement

The endorsement rule only reaches a specific group. Under 22 U.S.C. 212b, a “covered sex offender” is someone who was convicted of a sex offense against a person under 18 and is currently required to register under any jurisdiction’s sex offender registry.¹ If your offense involved an adult, you are not a covered sex offender under this statute and your passport will not carry the identifier.

For those who are covered, International Megan’s Law requires the State Department to print a notice inside the passport book stating that the bearer was convicted of a sex offense against a minor and is a covered sex offender under 22 U.S.C. 212b(c)(1).² Border agents anywhere in the world can see it.

The endorsement will not fit on a passport card, so covered sex offenders can only be issued a passport book, not a card.² The Angel Watch Center at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the office that certifies to the State Department who meets the definition.³ If you already hold a valid passport book without the identifier, the State Department can revoke it and require you to reapply for a compliant one.¹

Other Reasons a Passport Can Be Refused

Even if you are not a covered sex offender, several other grounds can defeat an application. These apply to everyone, and they come up often for people with criminal records.

A conviction under 18 U.S.C. 2423 (sex tourism) where you used a passport or crossed an international border during the offense. Passport eligibility is blocked throughout imprisonment and any parole or supervised release, and any existing passport must be revoked.⁴
An outstanding federal or state felony arrest warrant.⁵
A criminal court order, probation condition, or parole condition prohibiting departure from the country.⁵
Past-due child support above the statutory threshold, certified by the Department of Health and Human Services.⁵

Applying With a Registerable Conviction

Covered sex offenders must self-identify on the passport application.¹ First-time applicants and anyone whose previous passport was revoked use Form DS-11; those eligible for renewal use DS-82. Both require the standard supporting documents, photo, and fees. If you hold a passport book without the identifier, you have to surrender it, along with any passport card, and the State Department will issue a new book with the endorsement if no other ground for denial applies.²

As of 2026, the passport book application fee is $130. First-time applicants filing DS-11 in person also pay a $35 acceptance facility fee. Expedited processing adds $60.⁶ Routine processing runs four to six weeks and expedited runs two to three weeks, not counting mail time.⁷ No separate published timeline exists for covered sex offender applications, so plan for the longer end. If you need a passport within 14 calendar days of travel, you can schedule urgent processing at a passport agency.

The 21-Day Travel Notification

Holding a passport does not clear you to travel. Under SORNA, every registered sex offender must notify the local registry at least 21 days before any international trip, whether the underlying conviction involved a minor or an adult.⁸

The notice has to include departure and return dates, destination country, contact information abroad, means of travel, carrier and flight numbers for air travel, and the purpose of the trip. Digital copies of travel documents should go in at the same time. The registry passes the information to the U.S. Marshals Service’s National Sex Offender Targeting Center.⁹

Skipping notice is itself a federal crime. Under 18 U.S.C. 2250, knowingly failing to give the required international travel information and then attempting to travel carries up to 10 years in prison, a fine, or both.¹⁰

What Happens at the Border

Once your travel notice moves through the system, the U.S. Marshals Service or the Angel Watch Center can transmit information about your status to the destination country, through INTERPOL and through U.S. law enforcement attachés stationed abroad.¹¹ Those notifications can be sent even when less than 24 hours of notice was given.³

Foreign governments make their own admission decisions. Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom all have immigration laws allowing refusal of entry based on serious criminal history, and policies change without notice. A valid U.S. passport guarantees nothing about entry. Check with the destination country’s embassy or consulate before booking.

Lying on the Application

Concealing a covered sex offender status on a DS-11 or DS-82 is a federal offense. Under 18 U.S.C. 1542, a false statement on a passport application carries up to 10 years in prison for a first or second offense, 20 years if the false statement facilitates drug trafficking, and 25 years if it facilitates international terrorism.¹² Charges stack: lying on the application and also failing to give the 21-day notice can be prosecuted as separate crimes.

If Your Application Is Denied

A denial arrives as a written notice with the specific reasons and a statement of whether a hearing is available. For denials based on grounds like an outstanding warrant, a court order barring departure, or the covered sex offender identifier requirement, you or your attorney can request a hearing in writing within 60 days. Miss the deadline and the denial becomes final.¹³

At the hearing, the State Department presents its evidence first, but the burden of persuasion is yours: you have to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the denial was improper based on the facts and law at the time of the decision.¹⁴ In practice that usually means proving the factual basis was wrong, such as showing a warrant was quashed or a supervision condition was modified. Not every ground carries hearing rights; denials under the sex tourism statute at 22 U.S.C. 212a, for example, do not qualify for a hearing under 22 CFR 51.70.¹³

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 212b – Unique Passport Identifiers for Covered Sex Offenders
2
U.S. Department of State. Passports and International Megan’s Law
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 21503 – Angel Watch Center
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 212a – Restriction of Passports for Sex Tourism
5
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.60 – Denial and Restriction of Passports
6
U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
7
U.S. Department of State. Processing Times for U.S. Passports
8
Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. SORNA – Information Required for Notice of International Travel
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 U.S. Code 20914 – Information Required in Registration
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2250 – Failure to Register
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 21504 – Notification by the United States Marshals Service
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1542 – False Statement in Application and Use of Passport
13
govinfo. 22 CFR 51.70 – Request for Hearing to Review Certain Denials and Revocations
14
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.71 – The Hearing