On a U.S. passport, the issuing authority is the U.S. Department of State. Federal law gives the Secretary of State exclusive power to grant, issue, and verify passports, and no other government body can do so.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 211a – Authority to Grant, Issue, and Verify Passports If a visa application, airline form, or hotel registration card is asking you to fill in that field, write “United States Department of State.”
Where to Find It on Your Passport
Open your passport book to the data page, the one carrying your photograph and personal details. The issuing authority is printed on that page and, for a current U.S. passport, reads “United States Department of State.”
Passports issued from 2021 onward are the Next Generation U.S. passport, with a polycarbonate data page instead of the older laminated paper design.2Travel.State.Gov. Information About the Next Generation U.S. Passport The layout shifted somewhat, but the issuing authority field still sits on the data page and still names the Department of State.
What to Write on the Form
Any of these matches what appears in a current U.S. passport and will be accepted:
- United States Department of State
- U.S. Department of State
Foreign immigration officers compare what you write against what is printed in your passport, so copying the text verbatim is the safest approach. Open the book, look at the data page, and transcribe exactly what you see.
Some forms ask instead for “country of issue” or use the three-letter code from the machine-readable zone at the bottom of the data page. For a U.S. passport, that code is “USA.” The International Civil Aviation Organization sets that coding standard, and it is embedded on every U.S. passport’s data page.
If Your Passport Is Older and Lists a City
Older U.S. passports sometimes named a specific city, such as Los Angeles or Chicago, as the place of issue. If that is what your document shows, write the city exactly as printed. Current passport books name the Department of State directly, but the rule is the same either way: match the passport.
Why the Post Office or Library Is Not the Answer
This is where a lot of first-time applicants get tripped up. More than 7,500 locations across the country accept passport applications, including post offices, public libraries, and clerks of court.3U.S. Department of State. Where to Apply for a U.S. Passport – Section: Acceptance Facilities These are called acceptance facilities. They collect your Form DS-11, check your documents, administer the oath, and forward everything to the Department of State for processing.4U.S. Department of State. Apply for Your Adult Passport
Acceptance facilities are not issuing authorities. The statute is unusually clear: no entity other than the Secretary of State may grant, issue, or verify a U.S. passport.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 211a – Authority to Grant, Issue, and Verify Passports So even if you dropped your application off at a post office, the answer to write on the form is still “United States Department of State.” The name of the post office does not go on the form.
The same applies to the Department’s own passport agencies and regional centers, which handle urgent and expedited cases in person.3U.S. Department of State. Where to Apply for a U.S. Passport – Section: Acceptance Facilities Whether your application traveled through a post office or a passport agency, the issuing authority printed on the finished passport is identical.
Passports Issued at U.S. Embassies Abroad
If you needed a passport while traveling and got one from a U.S. embassy or consulate, the issuing authority is still the U.S. Department of State. The statute authorizes the Secretary of State to have passports “granted, issued, and verified in foreign countries by diplomatic and consular officers.”1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 211a – Authority to Grant, Issue, and Verify Passports Embassy staff act under the Secretary’s delegated authority; they do not become a separate issuing authority.
Emergency passports issued abroad are usually limited-validity documents, good for one year or less, and are meant to be replaced with a full-validity passport after you return home.5U.S. Department of State. Replace a Limited Validity Passport The shorter validity does not change what to write in the issuing authority field. Look at the data page, and copy what is printed there.
What “Issuing Authority” Means in the First Place
Every passport in the world is backed by a specific government body that vouches for the holder’s identity and citizenship. That body is the issuing authority. Most countries use a central national agency, typically a foreign affairs ministry or interior ministry. In the United States, the Bureau of Consular Affairs within the Department of State handles the actual work of reviewing applications, verifying identity, and producing the physical book.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 211a – Authority to Grant, Issue, and Verify Passports
That is why the answer for any U.S. passport, whether newly issued in Chicago, expedited at a passport agency, or handed to you by a consular officer overseas, comes out the same. One authority, one name on the form.