You can apply for a newborn’s U.S. passport as soon as you have the certified birth certificate. There is no minimum age, and every citizen needs their own passport to fly internationally, so the day-old baby in the car seat is treated the same as any other first-time applicant. To apply for a newborn passport, both parents bring the baby, the birth certificate, their own IDs, a compliant infant photo, and an unsigned Form DS-11 to a passport acceptance facility, then pay $135 for the standard passport book. The passport is valid for five years.
Documents to Bring
Three things have to be in the folder: proof the baby is a citizen, proof of who the parents are, and the baby’s photo.
Citizenship is usually the certified U.S. birth certificate. It must be a physical certified copy. Digital and mobile birth certificates are not accepted.1U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Child’s Passport Under 16 For a baby born abroad to U.S. citizen parents, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad does the same job.2U.S. Department of State. Birth of U.S. Citizens and Non-Citizen Nationals Abroad
Each parent at the appointment needs a valid government-issued photo ID, like a driver’s license or passport. Originals or certified copies only. A plain photocopy on its own will be turned away. The original citizenship document goes to the State Department with the application and comes back by mail after processing.
The Infant Photo
The photo is where applications fail. It must be 2 by 2 inches, taken against a plain white or off-white background, with the baby’s full face visible and facing the camera, and no one else in the frame.3U.S. Department of State. Passport Photos
One rule is looser than most parents expect: an infant’s eyes do not need to be fully open. The State Department says it is acceptable if an infant’s eyes are not entirely open, though older children must have their eyes open. The neutral-expression rule is also relaxed for infants.3U.S. Department of State. Passport Photos
The easiest setup at home is to lay the baby on a plain white sheet and shoot straight down from above. A white blanket draped over a car seat works too. If you have to support the baby’s head, your hands need to stay completely hidden behind the sheet. Take dozens of shots and pick the best one. Pharmacies and shipping stores that do passport photos will generally try to help with infants, but bringing a few backups on your phone is a smart hedge.
If the Baby Doesn’t Have a Social Security Number Yet
The SSN card often lags the birth certificate by weeks, and plenty of parents apply before it arrives. If your child has never been issued a Social Security number, enter zeros in the SSN field on the application and submit a separate signed affidavit stating no number has been assigned.4U.S. Embassy in Sweden. Information to Applicants Who Do Not Have a Social Security Number
Do not leave the field blank, and do not make up a number. Federal law imposes a $500 IRS-enforced penalty for failing to provide a Social Security number on a passport application when one has been issued. The penalty can be waived for reasonable cause, but the zeros-and-affidavit route sidesteps the problem entirely.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6039E – Information Concerning Resident Status
Both Parents Have to Show Up
Both legal parents or guardians must appear in person with the child. It is a two-parent consent rule aimed at preventing international child abduction, and the State Department enforces it strictly.1U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Child’s Passport Under 16
When One Parent Cannot Attend
The absent parent completes Form DS-3053 (Statement of Consent), has it notarized, and includes a photocopy of the ID they showed the notary. The notarized consent expires 90 days after the signature date, so don’t sign it far in advance of the appointment.6U.S. Department of State. Statement of Consent – U.S. Passport Issuance to a Child
When You Cannot Get the Other Parent’s Consent
A parent with sole legal custody submits the court order granting it. If the other parent is deceased, a death certificate is enough. When neither situation fits and the other parent simply cannot be located, the applying parent files Form DS-5525 (Statement of Exigent or Special Family Circumstances), which asks for a detailed account of the efforts made to reach them. Approval is at the State Department’s discretion.7U.S. Department of State. Statement of Exigent/Special Family Circumstances for Issuance of a U.S. Passport to a Child Under Age 16
Form DS-11
Every first-time applicant, newborn included, uses Form DS-11. You can fill it out with the State Department’s online form filler at pptform.state.gov and print it, or pick up a paper copy at the acceptance facility.8U.S. Department of State. Passport Forms The online tool is worth the small effort because it prevents the handwriting-legibility issues that hold applications up.
The form asks for the child’s legal name, date and place of birth, Social Security number, and basic descriptors like hair color, eye color, and height, plus both parents’ full names, dates of birth, and places of birth. Every detail needs to match the birth certificate exactly. Small mismatches cause delays.
Do not sign the form before the appointment. You sign in front of the acceptance agent who administers the oath. A form signed at home has to be thrown out and redone on a fresh copy.
The Appointment
Applications go in at a passport acceptance facility, which might be a post office, clerk of court, or public library. The State Department’s locator at iafdb.travel.state.gov searches by ZIP code and can filter for locations that offer passport photos on site.9U.S. Department of State. Passport Acceptance Facility Search
Most post offices require appointments booked through the USPS scheduler at tools.usps.com/rcas.htm. You can book up to four weeks out, appointments run about 15 minutes per applicant, and arriving 10 minutes early is expected.10USPS. Schedule An Appointment
The baby and both parents (or one parent plus a notarized DS-3053) all need to be there. The agent reviews the documents, watches the parent sign the DS-11, administers the oath, and takes payment.
What It Costs
You make two separate payments at the appointment: one to the Department of State for the application fee and one to the acceptance facility for the execution fee. The two collectors may want different payment methods, so bring a checkbook plus a backup.
- Passport book: $100 application fee plus $35 execution fee, $135 total
- Passport card: $15 application fee plus $35 execution fee, $50 total
- Book and card together: $115 application fee plus $35 execution fee, $150 total
Optional add-ons include a $60 expedite fee and a $22.05 charge for 1-to-3-day return delivery of the finished passport.11U.S. Department of State. United States Passport Fees
How Long It Takes
As of 2026, routine processing runs 4 to 6 weeks. Expedited processing, at an extra $60, runs 2 to 3 weeks.12U.S. Department of State. Processing Times for U.S. Passports Those clocks start when the State Department receives the application, not when you hand it to the acceptance agent, so mail transit adds a week or so on each end.
You can check status at passportstatus.state.gov using the applicant’s last name, date of birth, and the last four digits of the SSN. If you entered zeros because the baby didn’t have a number yet, try 0000.13U.S. Department of State. Check Your Application Status The passport and the original citizenship document come back in separate envelopes, sometimes days apart.
If You’re Traveling Soon
With international travel inside 14 calendar days, you can book urgent processing at a regional passport agency, by appointment only, and you’ll need proof of imminent travel like a flight itinerary. A life-or-death emergency abroad, such as a seriously ill family member, qualifies under the same 14-day window. If you need a foreign visa within 28 calendar days, that also qualifies for an agency appointment.14U.S. Department of State. How to Get My U.S. Passport Fast
Agency appointments are hard to get during peak travel season. If the trip is more than two weeks out but still tight, expedited processing plus 1-to-3-day return delivery is usually the more reliable path.
Book, Card, or Both
The passport book is required for all international air travel. The passport card is a wallet-sized alternative that works only for land and sea crossings to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean, and cannot be used for flights.15U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees For a newborn, the book is almost always the right and only choice. Both documents expire after five years for children under 16.16USAGov. Get a Passport for a Minor Under 18