DS-5525: Exigent and Special Family Circumstances Explained

Form DS-5525, the Statement of Exigent/Special Family Circumstances, lets one parent apply for a U.S. passport for a child under 16 when the other parent’s consent cannot be obtained. You file it together with the child’s passport application and use it to explain, in writing and with documentation, why the second signature is missing. The State Department reviews each case individually and has full discretion to approve or deny the request.¹

DS-5525 or DS-3053: Which Form You Actually Need

These forms solve different problems, and mixing them up is one of the most common reasons a child’s passport gets delayed.

DS-3053 is a consent form the other parent signs when they can’t appear in person but are willing to cooperate. They fill it out, get it notarized, and you bring it to the acceptance facility. That notarized consent is good for 90 days.²

DS-5525 is different. You fill it out yourself, because the other parent’s consent cannot be obtained at all. That’s the whole point of the form. If the other parent is willing but absent, use DS-3053. If the other parent is unreachable, unable, or barred from consenting, use DS-5525.

Situations the Form Covers

Federal regulation splits the qualifying scenarios into two categories, and knowing which one fits you shapes the narrative and evidence you’ll assemble.

Exigent Circumstances

Exigent circumstances are time-sensitive emergencies where the child’s inability to get a passport would threaten their health, safety, or welfare, or would separate them from their traveling party.¹ Examples include a child needing emergency medical treatment abroad, a sudden death in the immediate family requiring international travel, or a situation in which the child would be stranded without their group. The core element is that normal timelines cannot accommodate the emergency.

Special Family Circumstances

Special family circumstances apply when the family situation itself makes it exceptionally difficult or impossible for the other parent to sign.¹ Typical scenarios:

The other parent is incarcerated and cannot appear at an acceptance facility or execute a notarized consent.
A restraining or protective order prohibits contact between the parents.
The other parent’s location is unknown despite good-faith efforts to find them.
A compelling humanitarian need affects the child’s well-being, even without a time-sensitive emergency.

The regulation also allows a passport under special family circumstances when a child needs to return to the United States so a court can resolve a custody dispute. In those cases, the State Department may issue a limited-validity passport restricted to direct return travel.¹

When a Court Order Is the Better Path

If you’re not facing an emergency and you have time to work through the courts, a court order granting you passport authority is often more reliable than a DS-5525. The regulation recognizes several types of orders that let one parent apply alone:¹

A sole legal custody order with no travel restrictions that conflict with passport issuance.
A court order explicitly granting you the right to obtain a passport for the child.
A court order specifically authorizing the child to travel with you.

One trap to watch for: if your custody order says “joint legal custody” or requires both parents’ agreement on major decisions, the State Department will treat it as requiring both signatures, even if other language seems to give you more authority.¹ If you’re still in a custody proceeding, ask your attorney to include explicit passport and travel language. Other documents that establish sole parentage also work: a birth certificate listing only one parent, a death certificate for the other parent, an adoption decree naming only you, or an order terminating the other parent’s rights.

Filling Out the Form

The PDF is available on the State Department’s website. It collects details about the child, details about the non-applying parent (last known address, phone number, and anything else you can provide), and your written explanation of the circumstances.

The narrative is where applications succeed or fail. Be specific and factual:

Missing parent: how long they’ve been absent, what steps you’ve taken to locate them, and the dates and methods of your attempts.
Incarcerated parent: the facility, why a notarized DS-3053 could not be obtained, and the expected duration of incarceration.
Restraining order: a reference to the order and why contact to request consent is not possible.
Emergency: the nature of the emergency, why travel is necessary, and why standard consent procedures won’t work in the time available.

You sign under penalty of perjury. False statements on a federal form can result in fines or up to five years in prison.³ Stick to facts you can document. The signed form must be submitted within three months of the signature date; miss that window and you’ll need to re-sign before submitting.⁴

Documentation to Bring

Your narrative needs physical evidence behind it. What to gather depends on your circumstances:

Incarceration: records from the correctional facility or a court judgment confirming current status.
Restraining or protective order: a certified copy, plus any related police reports.
Missing parent: records of your search efforts, such as returned mail, documented phone calls, or correspondence with family members, and a missing persons report if one exists.
Medical emergency: a signed statement from a licensed physician describing the child’s condition and explaining why immediate international travel is necessary.
Family emergency travel: a death certificate, hospital documentation, or other proof of the urgent event.

The State Department may request additional evidence after you submit, including custody orders or incarceration records.⁵ Any document in a foreign language must come with a certified English translation, signed by a translator competent in both languages, with their name, address, and the date.

How and Where to Submit

File Form DS-5525 alongside Form DS-11, the new passport application, for children under 16. You and the child both must appear in person at an authorized passport acceptance facility.⁵ Most facilities require an appointment.

Bring the complete packet: the signed DS-11, the signed DS-5525, all supporting documentation, the child’s proof of citizenship (such as a birth certificate), a valid government-issued photo ID for yourself, a passport photo of the child, and payment.

A child’s passport book costs $135 total: a $100 application fee to the State Department and a $35 acceptance fee to the facility. Expedited processing adds $60.⁶ Routine processing runs four to six weeks; expedited runs two to three weeks.⁷ A passport issued to a child under 16 is valid for five years, not the ten years adults receive, so the same consent issue may return at renewal.⁵

Life-or-Death Emergency Service

If an immediate family member outside the United States has died, is dying, or has a life-threatening illness or injury, and you need to travel internationally within two weeks, the State Department offers expedited appointments at passport agencies.⁸ You’ll need documentation such as a death certificate or a letter on hospital letterhead signed by a physician, plus proof of imminent travel like a flight itinerary.

Try the online appointment system first. If nothing is available, call 1-877-487-2778 on weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Outside those hours and on weekends or holidays, call 202-647-4000.⁸ You’d still need to resolve the consent question, but pairing emergency processing with a DS-5525 is the fastest route when time is truly critical.

If the Application Is Denied

Approval isn’t guaranteed. A senior passport authorizing officer makes the final call based on the evidence you provide.¹ If the explanation or documentation falls short, the application will be denied.

The main recourse is the court system. You can petition a family court for an order that explicitly grants you authority to obtain the child’s passport. Courts can order passport issuance or delegate passport authority to one parent, and that order satisfies the State Department under the regulation. If the other parent is actively refusing to cooperate rather than simply unreachable, judicial intervention is often the stronger route from the start. A family law attorney can draft the order with the specific language the State Department expects to see.

1
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.28 – Minors
2
U.S. Department of State. Statement of Consent: U.S. Passport Issuance to a Minor Under Age 16
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1001 – Statements or Entries Generally
4
U.S. Department of State. Frequently Asked Questions About Passport Services
5
U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Child’s Passport Under 16
6
U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
7
U.S. Department of State. Processing Times for U.S. Passports
8
U.S. Department of State. Get a Passport if You Have a Life-or-Death Emergency