Can You Be Denied a Passport for Debt, Taxes, or Crime?

The U.S. Department of State can deny a passport application for unpaid child support of $2,500 or more, seriously delinquent federal tax debt, certain criminal convictions or outstanding warrants, incomplete citizenship or identity documentation, and problems with the consent rules that apply to children under 16. Some of these denials are mandatory and can only be cleared by resolving the underlying issue; others are discretionary and can be challenged through an administrative hearing. The reasons a passport application can be denied fall into these five buckets, and knowing which one applies to you determines what you do next.

Owing $2,500 or More in Child Support

If you owe $2,500 or more in past-due child support, the State Department is legally barred from issuing you a passport.¹ There is no discretion involved. The block stays in place until your name is removed from the federal Passport Denial Program.²

State child support agencies report qualifying parents to the federal Office of Child Support Services, which forwards names to the State Department. To get off the list, you have to work directly with your state child support agency to pay what you owe or set up an approved payment plan. Once your state notifies HHS, removal usually takes two to three weeks.³ The State Department has no information about your balance or payments, so calling them will not help.

Serious Tax Debt and Unpaid Federal Loans

The IRS certifies “seriously delinquent tax debt” to the State Department for passport denial. For 2026, that means a legally enforceable federal tax liability, including interest and penalties, above $66,000. The threshold is adjusted for inflation each year.⁴⁵

The IRS will not certify the debt if you are already paying on an approved installment agreement, have an accepted offer in compromise, or have a pending appeal that suspends collection. If your debt was certified before you applied, the State Department will hold the application open for 90 days to give you time to fix the problem with the IRS. Miss that window and the application is denied and closed.⁴

A separate rule blocks passports for anyone in default on a federal repatriation loan, meaning money the government advanced to help you return to the United States from abroad in an emergency. The debt has to be repaid before you can get a new passport, though you can still be issued a limited passport for direct return to the United States.²

Criminal Warrants, Convictions, and Court Orders

Criminal issues are the broadest ground for denial, and the rules vary a lot depending on what happened.

Outstanding Felony Warrants

The State Department may deny a passport if you are the subject of an outstanding federal felony warrant, a warrant under the Federal Fugitive Felon Act, or an outstanding state or local felony warrant.² The purpose is to stop people from leaving the country to duck prosecution or sentencing.

Drug Trafficking Convictions

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 State Department cannot issue you a passport while you are serving your sentence or on supervised release. Related money laundering convictions tied to drug trafficking are treated the same way. Emergency or humanitarian exceptions are possible.⁶

Drug misdemeanors that involved crossing an international border are a discretionary denial rather than a mandatory one. A first-time conviction for simple possession is excluded from the rule entirely.

Sex Offense Convictions Against a Minor

Registered sex offenders convicted of an offense against a minor can only be issued a passport that carries a printed endorsement reading: “The bearer was convicted of a sex offense against a minor, and is a covered sex offender pursuant to 22 USC 212b(c)(1).” Passport cards are not available at all for covered sex offenders, and the State Department can revoke previously issued passports that lack the endorsement.⁷⁸ The Angel Watch Center at the Department of Homeland Security decides who qualifies. Applicants are required to disclose their status with a signed statement.

Probation, Parole, and Travel Restrictions

A court order, a supervised release condition, or a subpoena that restricts your ability to leave the country will support a denial.² If you are on probation or parole, you have to submit documentation with your application. That can be a discharge notice, a letter of termination from your probation officer, or a court order ending supervised release. If you are still under active supervision and your officer approves travel, you need a letter on official letterhead with the officer’s signature, contact information, and your scheduled completion date.⁹

Two smaller catch-alls: the State Department may deny a passport if it determines your activities abroad are causing or likely to cause serious damage to national security or U.S. foreign policy, or if you have been legally declared incompetent by a U.S. court.

Missing or Insufficient Documentation

Even a clean legal and financial record will not save an application with weak paperwork. First-time applicants file Form DS-11; eligible renewals use DS-82.¹⁰

Primary proof of U.S. citizenship is a certified state-issued birth certificate, a naturalization certificate, or a Consular Report of Birth Abroad. Without one of those, you can use secondary evidence, but the requirements grow: a delayed birth certificate (filed more than a year after birth) or a Letter of No Record from the state, plus early-life records such as a baptismal certificate, hospital birth record, early school records, or a Census record covering the first five years of your life.¹¹

If you were born outside the United States and acquired citizenship through a U.S. citizen parent, you’ll need your foreign birth certificate, your parent’s proof of U.S. citizenship, and a statement of where your parents lived before your birth. Any foreign-language document must come with a professional English translation and a notarized letter attesting to its accuracy.

Federal law requires your Social Security number on the application. Leaving it off delays the application, may lead to denial, and triggers a $500 IRS penalty. If you have never been issued an SSN, you have to submit a signed statement under penalty of perjury declaring that fact.¹² You also need valid photo ID, and first-time applicants must appear in person to have their signature witnessed. If the State Department asks for more information and you don’t respond by the deadline in its notice, the application is denied and you have to start over with new documents, photos, and fees.¹³

Missing Parental Consent for Applicants Under 16

Applications for children under 16 have their own set of tripwires. Both parents or all legal guardians must appear in person with the child and sign the application, and a joint custody order is read as requiring both parents’ permission.¹⁴

When one parent cannot appear, the absent parent has to sign Form DS-3053, a Statement of Consent, in front of a notary and include a photocopy of the ID used at notarization. The form has to be submitted within three months of signing. An absent parent overseas may need to have the form notarized at a U.S. embassy or consulate.¹⁵

A sole legal custodian can apply alone by submitting one of these:

A court order granting sole custody or sole authority to apply for the passport
A certified birth certificate or adoption decree listing you as the only parent
A certified death certificate for the other parent
A certified judicial declaration of incompetence for the parent who cannot appear

If you cannot locate the other parent, Form DS-5525, a Statement of Special Family Circumstances, may work. The State Department can ask for more evidence, including a custody order, an incarceration order, or a restraining order, because the goal of the two-parent rule is to prevent international parental child abduction. A court order that specifically forbids removing a child from the jurisdiction will also block an application. Parents who worry about an unauthorized application can enroll a child for free in the Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program, which notifies the enrolled parent when anyone applies.¹⁶

What Happens After a Denial

Every denial comes with a written notice that has to explain the specific reasons and any available review procedure.¹³ Read the notice first, because what you can do depends on why you were denied.

Discretionary denials, including those based on outstanding warrants, court-ordered travel restrictions, national security concerns, or drug-related misdemeanor convictions, can be challenged through an administrative hearing. You have to send a written request within 60 days of receiving the notice. Miss that deadline and the denial becomes the State Department’s final action.¹⁷ The Department aims to hold the hearing within 90 days, in Washington, D.C., or at a U.S. embassy or consulate if you are abroad. You can appear yourself or through an attorney, and one continuance of up to 90 additional days is available if you request it at least five business days before the scheduled date.

Some denials are not eligible for the hearing process at all: child support arrears, defaulted federal repatriation loans, the sex offender endorsement requirement, and mandatory drug trafficking convictions. For those, the only route to a passport is resolving the underlying issue, whether that means paying the debt, finishing the sentence, or accepting the endorsement.

1
U.S. Department of State. Pay Child Support Before Applying for a Passport
2
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.60 – Denial and Restriction of Passports
3
Administration for Children & Families. How Does the Passport Denial Program Work?
4
Internal Revenue Service. Revocation or Denial of Passport in Cases of Certain Unpaid Taxes
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7345 – Revocation or Denial of Passport in Case of Certain Tax Delinquencies
6
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.61 – Denial of Passports to Certain Convicted Drug Traffickers
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 212b – Unique Passport Identifiers for Covered Sex Offenders
8
U.S. Department of State. Passports and International Megan’s Law
9
U.S. Department of State. Getting a Passport On or After Probation or Parole
10
U.S. Department of State. Passport Forms
11
U.S. Department of State. Get Citizenship Evidence for a U.S. Passport
12
U.S. Department of State. Frequently Asked Questions About Passport Services – Section: Social Security Number Requirement
13
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.65 – Notification of Denial, Revocation or Cancellation of Passports and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad
14
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.28 – Minors
15
U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Child’s Passport Under 16
16
U.S. Department of State. Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program
17
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.70 – Request for Hearing to Review Certain Denials and Revocations