DD Form 1056: Authorization to Apply for a No-Fee Passport

DD Form 1056 is the Department of Defense document that authorizes a no-fee passport for official government travel. It is not the passport application itself. Instead, it accompanies a State Department application (usually DS-11) and tells the Special Issuance Agency that the U.S. government is covering the cost because the traveler is going abroad on orders. Service members, DoD civilian employees, and command-sponsored dependents all use the same form.¹

Who Can Use DD Form 1056

Eligibility is tied to official international travel. Active-duty service members, reservists on active orders, DoD civilian employees, and their family members qualify when they receive orders for an overseas assignment, whether that assignment is a Permanent Change of Station or temporary duty travel.² Family members have to be listed on the sponsor’s travel orders and authorized to accompany the sponsor overseas.

Contractors are the tricky category. Personal services contractors traveling abroad on behalf of the government can qualify for an official passport. Non-personal services contractors may also receive one, but only when they cannot carry out their duties using a regular or service passport.³ If your status is unclear, ask your contracting officer or the installation passport office before you start the paperwork.

Anyone traveling for personal reasons does not qualify and needs a standard tourist passport through civilian channels.

Which Passport Type to Select

The form asks you to pick one of four categories, and the right choice depends on your role and orders.¹

Official: active-duty military and DoD civilians traveling under government orders. Maroon cover.
Diplomatic: personnel whose duties require diplomatic status, such as certain senior officials or those assigned to embassies. Black cover.
No-Fee Regular: looks like a standard blue tourist passport but carries a special endorsement showing government travel status.⁴
Military Dependent: typically for command-sponsored family members accompanying a service member overseas.

Selecting the wrong category can get the entire packet returned. The installation passport office can confirm which type matches your orders.

Filling Out the Form

DD Form 1056 is available through the DoD e-Forms portal or your installation passport office. Use the current edition; outdated versions are rejected outright. Digital completion is strongly preferred over handwriting because the systems that process the form handle typed entries more reliably.

The form collects personal data for the applicant and the sponsor: full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, rank, branch of service, and unit address.¹ Names must match the passport application and every supporting document exactly. A single transposed letter between a birth certificate and the form can send the whole packet back.

You also identify the destination country, the reason for travel (which must align with your orders), and the passport type requested. If you already hold a passport, the form asks for the book number and issuance date so the State Department can verify your history. Read the form instructions before you start, not after guessing wrong on three blocks. Dependents should ensure their relationship to the sponsor is clearly documented.

Documents to Bring With It

Missing or defective documents are the single most common reason applications get bounced. Assemble the packet before your appointment.

Proof of U.S. citizenship: a certified birth certificate with the registrar’s seal or a naturalization certificate. Hospital-issued birth certificates and photocopies do not count.
Official travel orders: PCS, TDY, or other orders that justify the no-fee request. Orders must list every dependent who is also applying.
Two identical passport photos taken within the past six months, 2 by 2 inches, white or off-white background, uniform lighting on the face, no eyeglasses.⁵
Previous passports: bring any existing passport, fee or no-fee. Old no-fee passports typically need to be surrendered or cancelled when a new one is issued.

All documents must be originals or properly certified copies. The acceptance agent compares them against your forms, and any mismatch triggers a rejection.

Where You Submit It and How Long It Takes

Schedule an appointment with a military passport acceptance agent or passport liaison office on your installation. The agent verifies your identity, confirms the packet is complete, and forwards the application to the State Department’s Special Issuance Agency for adjudication and production.⁴

Routine processing takes up to six weeks.⁶ Late winter through summer is the busiest period. When the passport is finished, it ships back to your local military passport office and you pick it up in person with a signature.

Because the process runs through military and State Department channels, there is no application fee and no acceptance facility fee. A standard adult tourist passport currently costs $130 in application fees plus a $35 acceptance fee.⁷ The no-fee pathway eliminates both.

Asking for Expedited Processing

If your departure falls inside the routine window, you may be able to request expedited service, but the bar is high. Expedited processing for no-fee passports is not the same as paying extra at the post office. It requires a formal memorandum on unit letterhead signed by a General Officer or Senior Executive Service equivalent explaining why the request is last-minute and why travel cannot be postponed.⁸

The memo must include the applicant’s full name, Social Security number, date of birth, departure date, destination, and purpose of travel. You also need finalized travel orders and a flight itinerary; blanket orders will not be accepted. The destination in the memo must match the DD Form 1056 and the passport application exactly.

If departure is 15 to 30 days out, the expedite package goes to the lockbox with scanned copies forwarded to the Passport Services Division. If departure is fewer than 15 days away, coordinate directly with PSD management at Fort Belvoir. Expedited processing is not available for dependents of command-sponsored personnel, and incomplete packages are rejected outright.

Validity and the Rules That Trip People Up

No-fee passports issued through this process are valid for five years from the date of issue, or for as long as the bearer maintains official status, whichever comes first.⁹ That second condition matters. If you separate from the military or your overseas assignment ends before the five-year mark, the passport is no longer valid for travel even though the printed expiration date has not passed. A tourist passport, by contrast, remains valid until the printed date regardless of employment.

You cannot use a no-fee passport for vacation, personal leave, or any purpose outside your official orders. This catches people off guard, especially those stationed overseas who assume the government-issued book works like a regular one. It does not. Service members and civilians who plan to travel on leave need a separate tourist passport, and holding a no-fee passport does not prevent you from getting one through civilian channels. Military passport offices routinely advise members to obtain both before heading overseas.

Misuse is a federal crime. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1544, willfully using a passport in violation of its conditions or the rules governing its issuance carries up to 10 years in federal prison for a first or second offense.¹⁰ Short of prosecution, unauthorized use can trigger UCMJ action, loss of security clearance, and administrative consequences that end careers.

Returning the Passport

A no-fee passport remains government property for its entire existence. Federal regulations require it to be returned to the Department of State when the bearer’s official status ends or whenever the Department directs.⁹ In practice, you surrender it when you return from an overseas assignment, separate, retire, or otherwise lose the status that qualified you.

For DoD personnel, the passport typically goes back through the installation passport office, which handles cancellation and forwarding to the Special Issuance Agency. Other federal agency employees should contact their agency for return instructions; in most cases the agency returns it to the SIA on the employee’s behalf.¹¹ Keeping a no-fee passport after your status ends violates federal regulation and can complicate any future passport application.

1
Department of Defense. DD Form 1056 – Authorization to Apply for a No-Fee Passport and/or Request for Visa
2
Privacy, Civil Liberties, and Transparency. A0 1000.21, OAA DoD
3
eCFR. 22 CFR Part 51 Subpart A – General
4
U.S. Department of State. Steps to Apply for a Special Issuance Passport
5
U.S. Department of State. U.S. Passport Photos
6
U.S. Department of State. Get Processing Times for Special Issuance Agency
7
U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
8
Passport Matters. Request Expedite Service for Passport Application(s)
9
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.4 – Validity of Passports
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1544 – Misuse of Passport
11
U.S. Department of State. Change, Transfer, or Return Your Special Issuance Passport