Get Your Child's
Passport Fast.

With PassportsAndVisas.com, as fast as 3-4 Days. Our speeds are Emergency 3-4 days, Rush 6 days, Priority 8 days, Essential 12 days, counted in business days from the day we receive your signed application, and the passport comes back by tracked overnight delivery. Doing it yourself, the State Department currently quotes 4–6 weeks for routine processing or 2–3 weeks with its expedite fee, plus shipping time in each direction. Child applications use the same speeds as adult ones. Full answer →

Start with the birth certificate: your baby needs a certified copy from the state or county vital records office, not the souvenir certificate from the hospital, so order it as soon as you can. Once you have it, we prepare the DS-11 and check everything, you sign in person with your baby, and our fastest speed, Emergency Expedited, returns the passport in 3-4 Days from when we receive your application. If your trip is very close, call us at 800-860-8610 before you order. Full answer →

Check the expiry date as soon as you book a trip. Many countries require at least 6 months of validity left when you arrive, and a child's passport only lasts 5 years, so it runs out sooner than most parents expect. If it expires within about 9 months of your trip, apply for a new one now; with an expedited service it takes days, not weeks. Full answer →

Yes, for any international flight. Every U.S. citizen, including a newborn, needs their own passport to fly abroad. For land or sea travel to Canada or Mexico, U.S. children under 16 can usually use a birth certificate instead. Full answer →

With Form DS-11, in person, like any child under 16. You need your baby's certified birth certificate, both parents' photo IDs (or a notarized consent form from a parent who can't come), and a passport photo of your baby. We prepare the form and check everything, you sign it in person with your baby present in about 15 minutes, then you send it to us and our courier takes it to a passport agency. Full answer →

Lay your baby on a plain white or off-white sheet and take the photo from directly above, with no hands, toys or pacifier in the picture. Your baby must be the only person in the photo and facing the camera; for newborns, it's acceptable if their eyes aren't fully open. We check the photo before you sign so it doesn't hold up the application. Full answer →

Not with a renewal form. Passports issued to children under 16 can't be renewed, so every new child passport is a fresh Form DS-11 application, signed in person. It works at the same speeds as any other passport with us, and we prepare the form for you. Full answer →

At 16 or 17, your teen gets a 10-year adult passport. If their last passport was issued before they turned 16, they apply in person with Form DS-11, and a parent should show awareness of the application, for example by coming along or giving a signed note with a copy of their ID. If their last passport was issued at 16 or older, they may be able to renew instead. Full answer →

Not always. On a closed-loop cruise, one that starts and ends at the same U.S. port, U.S. children can generally travel with a birth certificate. A passport is still the safer choice: if your child has to fly home from a foreign port, they can't board without one. Check your cruise line's own rules before you sail. Full answer →

Usually, yes. For a child under 16, both parents or legal guardians appear in person with the child when the DS-11 is signed. If one parent can't come, there are approved alternatives, covered in the next answer. Full answer →

The parent who can't come signs Form DS-3053, the Statement of Consent, in front of a notary, and provides a copy of the front and back of their photo ID. The parent who attends brings both with the application. We check the consent form before you sign so it doesn't get the application sent back. Full answer →

If you're the only parent listed on the birth certificate, you can apply alone with that birth certificate. If you have sole legal custody, include the court order; if the other parent has died, include the death certificate. Tell us your situation when you order and we'll confirm exactly which document to send. Full answer →

There are three parts. Our service fee is Emergency $449, Rush $349, Priority $249, Essential $199, depending on how fast you need it. The State Department's fee for a child's passport book with expedited service is $186.87. And there's a $35 acceptance fee, paid where you sign. You see our fee and the government fee before you pay. Full answer →

Your child's certified birth certificate (or Consular Report of Birth Abroad or naturalization certificate) with a photocopy, which usually also shows who the parents are; each parent's photo ID with a photocopy of the front and back; Form DS-3053 if a parent can't attend; one passport photo of your child; the DS-11, left unsigned until you're in front of the acceptance agent; and a copy of your trip itinerary. We prepare the DS-11 and check the rest. Full answer →

Five years for children under 16, compared with ten years for adults. Because it can't be renewed, each new one is a fresh DS-11 application. From 16, your child gets a 10-year adult passport. Full answer →