Form DS-11 for a Minor Passport: Documents, Consent, and Fees

To get a U.S. passport for a child under 16, you file the DS-11 minor passport application in person at an authorized acceptance facility, with the child and both parents present. There is no mail-in, online, or renewal option for children: every five years, when the passport expires, you start over with a new DS-11.¹

Documents To Gather Before You Go

A missing document means a wasted appointment. The acceptance agent has to see originals in person, so pull everything together before you fill anything out.

Proof of the Child’s U.S. Citizenship

The main document is a certified U.S. birth certificate from a state or county vital records office, showing the child’s full name, date and place of birth, both parents’ names, the registrar’s signature, and the filing date.² The souvenir certificate from the hospital does not count. For a child born abroad to U.S. citizen parents, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) works instead.³

Bring the original plus a clear photocopy of the front and back, single-sided on white 8.5-by-11-inch paper.⁴

Proof That You Are the Parent or Guardian

A U.S. birth certificate that names both parents covers this and citizenship in one document. Otherwise, bring a foreign birth certificate, adoption decree, or divorce or custody decree.⁵

Photo ID for Each Parent

Every parent or guardian present needs a valid government-issued photo ID: driver’s license, state ID card, or current passport. Bring a single-sided photocopy of the front and back of each ID on white 8.5-by-11-inch paper.⁶

One Passport Photo of the Child

You need a color photo taken within the last six months, printed at 2 by 2 inches. The child’s face must be centered and fully visible against a plain white or off-white background with no shadows. Take off eyeglasses, hats, and anything else covering the face; religious and medical exceptions require documentation. Infants’ eyes do not need to be open.⁷

Filling Out Form DS-11

Use the online form filler at travel.state.gov to type the information directly into the PDF, then print it single-sided. If you write it by hand, use black ink only.¹

The form asks for the child’s full legal name, date and place of birth, Social Security number, and each parent’s or guardian’s information. Leaving out the Social Security number can cause serious processing delays or a denial.⁸

Do not sign the form at home. Leave the signature line blank; the acceptance agent watches you sign it at the appointment.⁹

Both Parents Have To Consent

Federal rules require both parents or all legal guardians to appear in person with the child and sign the application. The point is to keep one parent from taking a child abroad without the other’s knowledge.¹⁰

If One Parent Can’t Come

The absent parent completes Form DS-3053, Statement of Consent, in front of a notary. The notary’s signature date must match the parent’s signature date, and the form is only valid for 90 days after notarization. Submit the notarized DS-3053 along with a front-and-back photocopy of the ID the absent parent showed the notary.¹¹

If neither parent can appear, each parent completes a notarized DS-3053 naming a third party (a grandparent, for example) to submit the application.

If Consent From the Other Parent Isn’t Possible

When the other parent is unreachable, incarcerated, or otherwise cannot provide notarized consent, the applying parent submits Form DS-5525, Statement of Exigent/Special Family Circumstances, explaining why.¹²

Sole Authority

You can skip the other parent’s consent entirely if you document sole authority with a court order granting sole legal custody, the other parent’s death certificate, or a birth certificate that lists only one parent.¹¹ These have to be originals or certified copies.¹

Book, Card, or Both

DS-11 asks you to pick a passport book, a passport card, or both.

The passport book is valid for international travel by air, land, or sea anywhere in the world.
The passport card is a wallet-sized card valid only for land and sea entry into the U.S. from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and some Caribbean countries. It cannot be used for air travel.

¹³ Both are valid for five years for a child under 16. If travel plans might involve a flight, get the book.

Fees

You pay two separate fees: an application fee to the State Department and an execution fee to the acceptance facility. They typically must be paid separately.¹⁴

Passport book: $100 application fee + $35 execution fee = $135
Passport card: $15 application fee + $35 execution fee = $50
Both: $115 application fee + $35 execution fee = $150

¹⁵

The application fee goes to the State Department by check or money order payable to “U.S. Department of State.” Personal, certified, cashier’s, and traveler’s checks all work. Payment methods for the $35 execution fee vary by facility, so ask before you go.¹⁴

Optional Speed Add-Ons

Expedited processing ($60) cuts processing from 4–6 weeks to 2–3 weeks. It does not include mailing time.
1–3 day delivery ($22.05) speeds return shipping of the finished passport. It’s not available for card-only applications, which ship by First Class Mail.

¹⁴

Submitting the Application in Person

Find a Facility and Book an Appointment

Acceptance facilities include post offices, public libraries, county clerk offices, and other local government buildings. The State Department’s locator at iafdb.travel.state.gov lets you search by ZIP code or city and filter for locations that take passport photos on site.

Most facilities require an appointment. At USPS locations, schedule online through the Retail Customer Appointment Scheduler or use a lobby self-service kiosk. Some sites offer limited walk-in hours.

At the Appointment

The child must be there regardless of age, including newborns. Both parents or guardians must attend, unless you have consent forms or sole-authority documentation covering the absence. The acceptance agent will:

Watch you sign the application
Verify originals against your photocopies
Confirm the child’s identity and your authority as parent or guardian
Collect the application, photo, photocopies, fees, and original citizenship documents

Your original birth certificate or other citizenship evidence goes to the State Department with the application. You get it back separately.

After You Apply

Routine processing is 4–6 weeks. Expedited is 2–3 weeks. Neither number includes mailing, which can add up to two weeks in each direction.¹⁶

Track the application at passportstatus.state.gov using the child’s last name, date of birth, and the last four digits of their Social Security number.¹⁷

The passport arrives by mail. Your original citizenship documents come back separately by First Class Mail, up to four weeks after the passport itself. If they haven’t shown up after four weeks, call 877-487-2778.¹⁸

If You Need It Sooner

If your travel date is close, the standard process won’t get you there. Both faster paths require an in-person appointment at a passport agency or center, not a regular acceptance facility.

Urgent travel: you can schedule a passport agency appointment when you are within 14 calendar days of international travel, or within 28 days if you also need a foreign visa. Slots fill fast.
Life-or-death emergency: if an immediate family member outside the U.S. has died, is dying, is in hospice care, or has a life-threatening illness or injury, and you must travel within 14 days, you can request a life-or-death emergency appointment.

¹⁶

If a Child’s Passport Is Lost or Stolen

Report it to the State Department right away. Once reported, the passport is invalidated permanently, even if it turns up later. File Form DS-64 online, by phone at 877-487-2778 (TTY 1-888-874-7793), or by mail.¹⁹

To replace it, apply again with a new DS-11: same in-person process, same documents, same fees. There is no shortcut for replacements.¹⁹

1
U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Child’s Passport Under 16
2
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.42 – Persons Born in the United States Applying for a Passport for the First Time
3
U.S. Embassy & Consulates. Minor Passport Application Form DS-11
4
U.S. Department of State. Citizenship Evidence
5
U.S. Embassy & Consulates. DS-11 for Minors
6
U.S. Department of State. Photo ID Requirements
7
U.S. Department of State. Passport Photos
8
U.S. Department of State. Application for a U.S. Passport
9
U.S. Department of State. Passport Forms
10
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.28 – Minors
11
U.S. Department of State. Statement of Consent: U.S. Passport Issuance to a Child
12
U.S. Department of State. Statement of Exigent/Special Family Circumstances for Issuance of a U.S. Passport to a Child Under Age 16
13
U.S. Department of State. Compare a Passport Card and Book
14
U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
15
U.S. Department of State. United States Passport Fees for Acceptance Facilities
16
U.S. Department of State. Get Your Passport Fast
17
U.S. Department of State. Check Your Application Status
18
U.S. Department of State. After You Get Your New Passport
19
USAGov. Lost or Stolen Passports