Your permanent address for a passport is the physical street address where you actually live and plan to return to — the place that functions as your established home, not a PO Box, not a temporary stay, and not a mail drop. On Form DS-11, you only have to write it in the permanent address field if it differs from the mailing address where you want your passport sent. If you live at home and get your mail there, one address covers both.
Where Permanent Address Goes on Form DS-11
The DS-11 application (used by first-time applicants and anyone who can’t renew by mail) has two separate address fields. Item 8 is your mailing address, where the State Department ships your finished passport. Item 19 is your permanent address, and the form instructions tell you to fill it in only if your mailing address is a PO Box or if your residence is different from your mailing address.1U.S. Department of State. DS-11 Application for a U.S. Passport – Translated Guide
The rules for each field are different. The mailing address can be a PO Box, a relative’s house, or anywhere you reliably get mail. The permanent address cannot. Item 19 explicitly says “No P.O. Box” and requires a physical street address, rural route number, or urbanization code.1U.S. Department of State. DS-11 Application for a U.S. Passport – Translated Guide So if all your mail goes to a PO Box but you live in an apartment, the PO Box belongs in Item 8 and the apartment belongs in Item 19.
How to Figure Out Your Permanent Address
Your permanent address is the place you habitually live and intend to return to. For most people, that’s obvious: it’s where you sleep most nights, where your bills arrive, and where you’re registered to vote. When your situation is less tidy, the same test still works. Pick the single address that best represents your established home base, not a place you’re staying for a while.
You don’t have to submit utility bills or a lease to prove the address you list. But the ID documents you bring to the acceptance facility, like a driver’s license, will usually show an address, and a big mismatch between your ID and what you write on the application can invite questions. If you’re applying in a state different from the one that issued your license, the State Department recommends bringing an extra form of ID showing your full name, photo, date of birth, and document issuance date.2U.S. Department of State. Get Photo ID for a U.S. Passport
Common Living Situations
College Students
If you live in a dorm or an off-campus rental during the school year, your permanent address is your parent’s or guardian’s home, meaning the place you go back to on breaks and over the summer. A dorm room is temporary housing. If you apply at a facility near campus and your license shows your parents’ state, plan to bring an additional form of ID such as a student ID or voter registration card.2U.S. Department of State. Get Photo ID for a U.S. Passport
Military Service Members
Use your home of record, not your current duty station, base housing, or APO/FPO address. Your home of record is the address you listed when you entered the military, and it stays the same until you formally change it. An APO or FPO address can go in the mailing field if that’s where you want the passport sent, but it does not belong in the permanent address field.
U.S. Citizens Living Abroad
If you live overseas but still keep a U.S. residence, like a home you own, a bank account, or a voter registration, that U.S. address is your permanent address. If you’ve fully relocated and have no remaining U.S. ties, you can list your foreign address; the DS-11 includes a country field for addresses outside the United States.3USEmbassy.gov. Some Tips to Keep in Mind When Filling Out a Passport Application Citizens abroad generally apply at a U.S. embassy or consulate rather than a domestic acceptance facility.
Two Homes
If you split time between two residences, list the one where you spend the majority of your time and receive official mail. It’s the address that would hold up if someone asked where you really live. A vacation house you use a few weekends a year doesn’t qualify, even if you own it.
No Fixed Address
Not having a traditional home doesn’t disqualify you from getting a passport. You can list a shelter address or the address of a trusted friend or family member as your permanent address. Just make sure the mailing address you give is somewhere you can reliably receive the passport when it arrives.
Mid-Move
If you’re in the middle of relocating, use your current address, the one where you’re actually living right now. Don’t list a place you haven’t moved into yet. You haven’t established residency there, and if something goes wrong the State Department needs to reach you where you actually are.
If You Move While Your Application Is Processing
Once your passport has been issued and delivered, you never need to update your address with the State Department. A passport doesn’t display a home address anywhere on the document, so moving doesn’t affect its validity.4U.S. Department of State. Change or Correct a Passport
Moving during processing is different. Call the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778 (TTY: 1-888-874-7793) to update the mailing address so your passport goes to the right place.5U.S. Department of State. Frequently Asked Questions About Passport Services A USPS forwarding order isn’t a reliable substitute; call directly.
If your passport was issued but never arrived, you have 120 days from the issue date to report non-receipt using Form DS-86, Statement of Non-Receipt of a U.S. Passport. Miss that window and you’ll have to reapply from scratch and pay the full fees again.6Department of State. Form DS-86 – Statement of Non-Receipt of a U.S. Passport This is the route to take if a passport went to an old address after a move.
Penalties for Listing a False Address
The application warns that false statements can lead to criminal prosecution, and that warning has teeth. Under federal law, knowingly making a false statement on a passport application carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years for a first or second offense not connected to terrorism or drug trafficking.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1542 – False Statement in Application and Use of Passport Repeat offenders face up to 15 years. When the false statement facilitates drug trafficking, the maximum is 20 years; for international terrorism, 25 years.
An honest judgment call between two homes you actually live in isn’t what those penalties target. Deliberately misrepresenting where you live to obtain a passport you’re not entitled to is.