Passport Documents for Adults: Forms, Fees, and Photo Rules

Adults applying for a U.S. passport for the first time need five things at the appointment: proof of U.S. citizenship, a government-issued photo ID, a compliant 2-by-2-inch photograph, a completed but unsigned Form DS-11, and payment for both the application and acceptance fees. The passport documents for adults listed below apply to first-time applicants, who must appear in person. A standard adult passport book runs $165 in combined fees and stays valid for 10 years.

Proof of U.S. Citizenship

Citizenship evidence is the foundation of the application. For anyone born in the United States, the standard document is a certified birth certificate showing your full name, your date and place of birth, and the full name of at least one parent. It also needs the signature of the official custodian of records, the seal of the issuing office, and a filing date within one year of your birth.¹ Decorative hospital keepsake certificates don’t qualify. You need the version issued by your city, county, or state vital records office.

If you were born outside the United States, acceptable citizenship documents include a certificate of naturalization, a certificate of citizenship, or a Consular Report of Birth Abroad.² An undamaged, previously issued U.S. passport also works as citizenship evidence.

If You Can’t Get a Birth Certificate

Secondary evidence is allowed when a compliant birth certificate isn’t available. The State Department accepts hospital birth records, baptismal certificates, school records, and other documents created shortly after birth, generally within five years.¹ Affidavits from people with direct knowledge of the birth can supplement those records. Submit originals or certified copies, not photocopies.

Photo Identification

Separately from citizenship, you have to prove you are who you say you are. The applicant carries this burden, and the straightforward way to meet it is a current, unexpired government photo ID: a driver’s license, a military ID card, or a government employee ID.³ The photo should still look like you. If you have no government photo ID at all, the regulation allows other identifying evidence, including an identifying witness affidavit, but that route invites extra scrutiny.

Photocopies You Have to Bring

Bring a photocopy of your citizenship evidence and a photocopy of the front and back of your photo ID. Each copy must be on standard 8.5-by-11-inch paper, printed on one side only.⁴ Don’t print the front and back of an ID on the same sheet. Some acceptance facilities have a copier available, but that isn’t guaranteed.

Passport Photo

The photo must be 2 by 2 inches, printed in color on matte or glossy photo-quality paper. Your head, measured from the bottom of your chin to the top of your head, must fall between 1 and 1⅜ inches in the image. Face the camera directly with a neutral expression, both eyes open and mouth closed. A slight smile is fine as long as your eyes stay open and your mouth stays shut.⁵

Glasses are not allowed. The only exception is a documented medical reason, such as recent eye surgery, backed by a signed doctor’s note. Hats and head coverings are also prohibited unless worn daily for religious reasons, which requires a signed statement, or for medical reasons with a doctor’s note. Your full face must be visible with no shadows.⁵

The background has to be plain white or off-white, and the photo must have been taken within the past six months. No filters, editing software, or AI tools. Retail pharmacies and shipping stores typically charge $15 to $18 for passport photos. A smartphone and a white wall work too, if you meet the specifications.

Form DS-11

First-time adult applicants use Form DS-11. You can fill it out online through the State Department’s website or pick up a paper form at an acceptance facility.⁶ If you complete it by hand, use black ink only and skip correction fluid; if you make a mistake, start over with a new form.⁷

The form asks for your Social Security number, which federal tax law requires you to provide if you have one. It also asks for your parents’ information, previous names, and travel plans. If your current legal name doesn’t match the name on your citizenship document, you’ll need to show how it changed. A marriage certificate or court-ordered name change is the cleanest proof. Without either, you may need Form DS-60, an affidavit completed by two people who have known you by both names, along with three public records showing at least five years of use of the new name.⁸

One thing to get right: do not sign Form DS-11 until the acceptance agent tells you to. The signature must be witnessed. Signing early means starting over.⁷

Fees and Payment

A first-time adult passport book costs $130 for the application fee, paid to the U.S. Department of State, plus a $35 acceptance fee paid to the facility where you apply. Two separate payments.⁹ Expedited processing adds $60, and 1-to-3-day return delivery of the finished passport costs another $22.05.¹⁰

Pay the $130 application fee by check or money order made out to “U.S. Department of State.” Write the applicant’s name and date of birth in the memo line. Accepted methods for the $35 acceptance fee vary by facility, so call ahead. If you apply at a regional passport agency instead of an acceptance facility, payment is by credit card, debit card, or contactless payment only.¹¹

Where and How to Apply

First-time adult applicants must appear in person. You can submit at any designated passport acceptance facility, and many post offices, county clerk offices, and public libraries serve that role. The State Department’s website has a facility locator that shows offices near you along with their hours.

At the appointment, the acceptance agent reviews your documents, witnesses your signature on Form DS-11, and seals everything into a package addressed to the State Department. Bring all originals, the photocopies, your photo, the completed form, and both payments. Your original citizenship document is mailed with the application and comes back separately from your finished passport.

Book or Card

The document list above applies to both formats, but the fees differ and the two are not interchangeable. A passport book works for all international travel by land, sea, or air. A passport card is a wallet-sized alternative that only covers land and sea crossings between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean.¹² You cannot board an international flight with a passport card. A first-time adult card runs $30 for the application fee plus the same $35 acceptance fee, totaling $65.⁹ If you fly internationally at all, get the book.

Situations That Can Block Approval

Perfect paperwork isn’t the only thing that matters. Federal law creates several grounds for denial or revocation, and some catch applicants off guard.

Owing more than $2,500 in past-due child support triggers an automatic certification to the State Department, which will deny or revoke a passport. Clearing this means resolving the arrearage or arranging payment with the state child support agency.¹³

The IRS can certify taxpayers with seriously delinquent federal tax debt for passport denial or revocation. The base statutory threshold is $50,000, adjusted annually for inflation, and the debt must have a filed tax lien or active levy.¹⁴

A federal or state drug felony conviction where you used a passport or crossed an international border while committing the offense makes you ineligible during any period of imprisonment, parole, or supervised release, and the State Department must revoke an existing passport. For drug misdemeanors with the same border-crossing element, the Secretary of State has discretion to deny, though a first-time misdemeanor for simple possession is excluded.¹⁵

A conviction for a sex offense against a minor doesn’t necessarily prevent issuance, but the passport will carry a unique identifier inside stating that the bearer was convicted of such an offense, under International Megan’s Law.¹⁶

1
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.42 – Persons Born in the United States Applying for a Passport for the First Time
2
GovInfo. 22 CFR Part 51 Subpart C – Evidence of U.S. Citizenship or Nationality
3
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.23 – Identity of Applicant
4
U.S. Department of State. Apply for Your Adult Passport
5
U.S. Department of State. U.S. Passport Photos
6
USAGov. Apply for a New Adult Passport
7
U.S. Department of State. Application for a U.S. Passport
8
U.S. Department of State. Name Change for U.S. Passport or Correct a Printing or Data Error
9
U.S. Department of State. United States Passport Fees
10
U.S. Department of State. How to Get My U.S. Passport Fast
11
U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
12
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. U.S. Citizens – Documents Needed to Enter the United States and/or to Travel Internationally
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 652 – Duties of Secretary
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 7345 – Revocation or Denial of Passport in Case of Certain Tax Delinquencies
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 U.S. Code 2714 – Denial of Passports to Certain Convicted Drug Traffickers
16
U.S. Department of State. Passports and International Megan’s Law