Passports

To obtain a US passport, US citizens may apply in person at the nearest passport office or at one of the several thousand federal or state courts or U.S. post offices authorized to accept passport applications. Not every post office will accept passport applications; it’s usually one of the largest offices in the city. For your first passport application, you must apply in person.

We can’t stress enough the importance of applying for a passport early. The heaviest demand period is January through August (because of summer travel), with September through December being the speediest period. Even during the latter, however, you should allow at least eight weeks for your passport application to be processed. With today’s increasing security, it is more important than ever to apply for a passport months before your travel date.

To obtain a passport, first get an unsigned passport application (DSP-11) from your local passport office or post office which handles passport applications. Do NOT sign the application.

Provide proof of US citizenship. This can be an expired passport, a certified birth certificate (that means one with a raised, impressed, embossed, or multicolored seal). If you do not have a certified copy of your birth certificate, call the Bureau of Vital Statistics in the city where you were born. You also must provide identification, which could be an expired passport, a valid driver’s license, a government ID card or certificate of naturalization or citizenship. (Here’s what won’t work: Social Security card, learner’s permit, temporary driver’s license, credit card, expired ID card.)

Next, provide two identical photographs of yourself no larger than 2x2 inches (the image of your head from the bottom of your chin to the top of your head must not be less than one inch or more than 1-3/8 inch). Passport photos can be either color or black and white but they may not be Polaroid’s or vending machine photos. The easiest way to get passport photos is to go to one of the quick copy stores and ask for passport shots.

You may pay in person by check, bank draft, or money order. At passport agencies you may also pay in cash; some (but not all) post offices and clerks of court accept payment in cash.

When you receive your passport, sign it. The next step is to fill in page four in pencil with your address and a contact in case of emergency.

Need to talk with someone? The only public phone number for passport information is to the National Passport Information Center (NPIC). You can call here for information on passport emergencies, applying for a US passport, or to obtain the status of a passport application. Automated information is available 24 hours a day and live operators can be reached on workdays from 8am to 8pm, Eastern Standard Time. (Services are available in English, Spanish, and by TDD.) This is a toll call. Call Tel. 900/225-5674 for either automated or live service; Tel. 900/225-7778 for TDD service. Calling from a number blocked from 900 service? Call Tel. 888/362-8668 (TDD Tel. 888/498-3648); you will be required to pay by credit card at a flat rateper call. You’ll also find information online at http://travel.state.gov/passport_services.html.