Can Felons Get a US Passport? Disqualifying Crimes, Debts, and Denials

Most people with a felony conviction can get a U.S. passport. Federal law blocks issuance for only a narrow set of offenses, and those bars are usually temporary. The standard passport application does not ask for your criminal history, and there is no background check like the one you would face buying a firearm or applying for certain licenses. What the State Department screens for is citizenship, identity, and a short list of specific red flags tied to drug trafficking, certain sex offenses, active warrants, and unpaid government debts. If none of those apply to you, a past felony is not a barrier.

Convictions That Actually Disqualify You

A garden-variety felony conviction — assault, theft, fraud, burglary, and the like — creates no legal obstacle to a passport once you have finished your sentence, including probation or supervised release. The convictions that do trigger denial are surprisingly specific.

Drug Trafficking With an International Element

You cannot receive a passport if you were convicted of a federal or state drug felony and you used a passport or crossed an international border while committing the offense. The bar lasts while you are imprisoned or on parole or other supervised release for that conviction.¹

Two details matter. A drug felony that was entirely domestic does not trigger this provision. And even when it does, the denial expires once you complete supervised release. The Secretary of State can also grant an exception for emergency or humanitarian circumstances.¹ If you already hold a passport at the time of such a conviction, the State Department must revoke it.

Sex Tourism Convictions

If you were convicted under the federal sex tourism statute (18 U.S.C. 2423) for traveling in foreign commerce to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and you used a passport or crossed a border in committing the offense, the State Department must deny or revoke your passport. It may issue only a limited-validity passport for direct return to the United States.²

The Sex Offender Passport Endorsement

Registered sex offenders convicted of offenses against minors face a different rule. They can still receive a passport, but it carries a conspicuous notation. Federal law requires the Secretary of State to place a “unique identifier” on the passport of any “covered sex offender,” defined as someone currently required to register under any jurisdiction’s sex offender registry based on a conviction for a sex offense against a minor.³

The endorsement does not stop you from holding a passport. But it alerts border officials in other countries, and many will deny entry on that basis.

Current Legal Status Can Stop an Application

Your standing right now matters more than the age of your record. The State Department may refuse a passport if any of the following apply:

An outstanding felony arrest warrant, whether federal, state, local, or from a foreign government.
A criminal court order, or a condition of probation or parole, that forbids you from leaving the country or the court’s jurisdiction.
A federal grand jury subpoena in a matter involving felony prosecution or investigation.

These are discretionary grounds — the department may deny rather than must. In practice, though, an active warrant or a travel-restricting court order will stop an application cold.²

Two Debts That Block a Passport

These are not criminal issues, but they catch more people than felony convictions do.

Seriously delinquent tax debt. If the IRS certifies you as having seriously delinquent federal tax debt, the State Department cannot issue you a passport. For 2026, the threshold is unpaid federal tax debt, including penalties and interest, totaling more than $66,000. If you apply while certified, the department will hold your application for 90 days to give you time to resolve the debt or enter a payment arrangement. If you do neither, the application is denied.⁴

Past-due child support. If you owe $2,500 or more in past-due child support, you are ineligible. Your state’s child support enforcement agency reports the arrearage to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which forwards your name to the State Department. Paying through your state agency is the only way to clear the hold, and removal from the denial list takes roughly two to three weeks after payment.⁵

Do Pardons or Expungements Help?

It depends on which restriction you are trying to clear.

The drug trafficking and sex tourism denial provisions only apply while you are imprisoned or on supervised release. Once supervised release ends, that denial lifts on its own regardless of whether the conviction remains on your record. A pardon that fully vacates the conviction would logically remove the underlying basis for denial, but the statute does not explicitly address pardons, and the State Department retains discretion in ambiguous cases.

For the warrants and court-order restrictions, a pardon that eliminates the underlying criminal case would remove the warrant or court order that triggered the hold. An expungement that seals the record could have a similar practical effect, though state expungement laws vary widely in what they actually erase versus what they merely seal from public view.

For the sex offender passport endorsement, the trigger is current registration on a registry. If a pardon or expungement removes the registration requirement, the endorsement mandate no longer applies. But many jurisdictions keep sex offender registration obligations in place even after expungement of the underlying conviction.

Applying With a Felony Record

If none of the disqualifying conditions apply, the process is identical to any other citizen’s. There is no separate form or extra screening for applicants with criminal records.

Complete Form DS-11 and submit it in person at a passport acceptance facility. Do not sign the form until you are in front of the acceptance agent. You will need proof of U.S. citizenship (a city, county, or state birth certificate, a Certificate of Naturalization, a Certificate of Citizenship, or a previously issued full-validity U.S. passport), a government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license, and one recent 2×2-inch color passport photo.⁶

A first-time adult passport book costs $130 in application fees plus a $35 acceptance fee, totaling $165.⁷ Routine processing runs four to six weeks; expedited service costs an extra $60 and takes two to three weeks.⁸

If Your Application Is Denied

You have the right to request a hearing. The request must be in writing, submitted by you or your attorney, and the State Department must receive it within 60 days of the date you received the denial notice. Miss that deadline and the denial becomes final.⁹

If you file on time, the department will make reasonable efforts to hold the hearing within 90 days. You are entitled to one continuance of up to 90 additional days, but you must request it at least five business days before the scheduled hearing date. Before the hearing, the department will provide copies of the evidence it relied on.⁹

For denials based on child support arrears, paying the debt is faster than appealing. Once your state agency confirms payment to HHS and HHS removes your name, the State Department resumes processing. Removal typically takes two to three weeks.⁵

The Passport Solves Leaving, Not Entering

A U.S. passport lets you leave and re-enter the United States. It does not obligate any foreign country to let you in. Every destination sets its own admission rules, and several popular ones routinely turn away travelers with felony convictions. Check before you book.

Canada

Canada is notoriously strict. Under Canadian immigration law, both minor and serious criminal convictions can make you “criminally inadmissible.” With a felony conviction, you generally cannot enter Canada unless you obtain a Temporary Resident Permit or, if at least five years have passed since the end of your full sentence including probation, apply for and receive a determination that you are “deemed rehabilitated” or formally approved for Criminal Rehabilitation.¹⁰

United Kingdom

The UK must refuse entry to anyone who received a custodial or suspended sentence of 12 months or more. Entry must also be refused if you are a persistent offender or committed an offense that caused serious harm. Violent crimes, drug offenses, sexual offenses, and racially motivated crimes are generally treated as causing serious harm regardless of sentence length.¹¹

Australia

Australia requires all visa applicants to meet a “character test” under its Migration Act. You must declare every criminal charge and conviction from any country. The department may request police certificates, character assessment forms, and employer references. A visa can be denied or cancelled at any time if you fail those requirements.¹²

Japan

Japan denies landing to anyone sentenced to one year or more of imprisonment for any criminal offense, with an exception only for political crimes. For drug offenses, the rule is harsher: any conviction related to narcotics, marijuana, stimulants, or psychotropic substances results in inadmissibility regardless of the sentence length.¹³

These are four examples of many. Before traveling anywhere with a felony record, contact the destination country’s embassy or consulate to confirm what they require.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 2714 – Denial of Passports to Certain Convicted Drug Traffickers
2
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.60 – Denial and Restriction of Passports
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 212b – Unique Passport Identifiers for Covered Sex Offenders
4
Internal Revenue Service. Revocation or Denial of Passport in Cases of Certain Unpaid Taxes
5
U.S. Department of State. Pay Child Support Before Applying for a Passport
6
U.S. Department of State. Get Citizenship Evidence for a U.S. Passport
7
U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
8
U.S. Department of State. How to Get My U.S. Passport Fast
9
eCFR. 22 CFR Part 51 Subpart F – Procedures for Review of Certain Denials and Revocations
10
Government of Canada. Overcome Criminal Convictions
11
GOV.UK. Suitability – Grounds for Refusal / Cancellation – Criminality
12
Department of Home Affairs. Character Requirements for Visas
13
Japanese Law Translation. Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act