Travel document requirements vary from country to country, but you will need the following: a U.S. passport or other proof of citizenship, plus a visa or a tourist card, if required by the country or countries that you will visit. You may also need evidence that you have enough money for your trip and/or have ongoing or return transportation tickets.

A Valid Passport

Who Needs a Passport?

A U.S. citizen needs a passport to depart or enter the United States and to enter and depart most foreign countries. Exceptions include short-term travel between the United States and Mexico, Canada, and some countries in the Caribbean, where a U.S. birth certificate or other proof of U.S. citizenship may be accepted. Your travel agent or airline can tell you if you need a passport for the country that you plan to visit. Information on entry requirements is available from the booklet Foreign Entry Requirements, for 50 cents from the Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, Colorado 81009; telephone 719-948-4000; Internet http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/ The embassy or consulate of the country where you plan to travel can also advise you about its entry requirements.

Please Remember!

Even if you are not required to have a passport to visit a foreign country, U.S. Immigration requires you to prove your U.S. citizenship and identity to reenter the United States. Make certain that you take with you adequate documentation to pass through U.S. Immigration upon your return. A U.S. passport is the best proof of U.S. citizenship. Other documents to prove U.S. citizenship include an expired U.S. passport, a certified copy of your U.S. birth certificate, a Certificate of Naturalization, a Certificate of Citizenship, or a Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States. To prove your identity, either a valid driver's license or a government identification card that includes a photo or a physical description is adequate.

With the number of international child custody cases on the rise, several countries have instituted passport requirements to help prevent child abductions. For example, Mexico has a law that requires a child traveling alone, or with only one parent, or in someone else's custody, to carry written, notarized consent from the absent parent or parents. No authorization is needed, if the child travels alone and is in possession of a U.S. passport. A child traveling alone with a birth certificate requires written, notarized authorization from both parents.

Beware of a Passport That Is About to Expire!

Certain countries will not permit you to enter and will not place a visa in your passport, if the remaining validity is less than 6 months.

All U.S. Citizens Must Have Their Own Passport.

Since January 1981, family members are not permitted to be included in each other's passports. Even newborn babies need their own passports to travel.

When to Apply

Every year, demand for passports becomes heavy in January and declines in August. You can help reduce U.S. Government expense and avoid delays by applying between September and December. However, even during those months, periods of high demand for passports can occur. Apply several months in advance of your planned departure, whenever possible. If you need visas, allow additional time - approximately two weeks per visa.

How to Apply for Your Passport in Person

For your first passport, you must appear in person with a completed Form DSP-11, Passport Application, at one of the 13 U.S. passport agencies or at many Federal and state courts, probate courts, at some county/municipal offices, or at U.S. post offices authorized to accept passport applications. The addresses of passport acceptance facilities in your area are available on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov or by calling 1-900-225-5674 (or 1-888-362-8668 with a credit card.)

Applicants who are age 16 and older must appear in person when applying for a passport, if they are applying for the first time. Minors who are ages 13, 14, and 15 years must also appear in person, and be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Applicants ages 16 and 17 years may apply on their own IF they have acceptable identification. The parent or legal guardian may be contacted by the Passport Agency to ensure that they are giving permission for issuance of the passport. If the applicant does not have identification, then the parent or legal guardian must accompany the applicant. For children under age 13, a parent or legal guardian may appear on their behalf. The children do not have to appear in person.

If you have had a previous passport and wish to obtain a new one, you may be eligible to apply by mail.

For more information on obtaining a U.S. passport, you can obtain a copy of the publication Passports: Applying for Them the Easy Way. This pamphlet provides basic information about applying for a U.S. passport, and it is available for 50 cents from the Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, Colorado 81009; telephone 719-948-4000; Internet http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/

What to Bring When You Apply for a Passport in Person

1. A properly completed, but unsigned, passport application (DSP-11). Do not sign it!

2. Proof of U.S. citizenship (a, b, or c):

a. Use your previously issued passport or one in which you were included. If you are applying for your first passport or cannot submit a previous passport, you must submit other evidence of citizenship.

b. If you were born in the United States, you should produce a certified copy of your birth certificate. This must show that the birth record was filed shortly after birth and must be certified with the registrar's signature and raised, impressed, embossed, or multicolored seal. Certified copies of birth records can be obtained from the Bureau of Vital Statistics in the city, state, county, or territory where you were born. (Notifications of Birth Registration or Birth Announcements are not normally accepted for passport purposes.) A delayed birth certificate (one filed more than one year after the date of birth) is acceptable, provided it shows a plausible basis for creating this record. If it does not, you will need to submit the best secondary evidence possible.

If you cannot obtain a birth certificate, you may submit a notice from a state registrar stating that no birth record exists, accompanied by the best secondary evidence possible. This may include a baptismal certificate, a hospital birth record, notarized affidavits of persons having personal knowledge of the facts of your birth, or other documentary evidence such as an early census, school records, family Bible records, and newspaper files. A personal knowledge affidavit should be supported by at least one public record reflecting birth in the United States.

c. If you were born abroad, you can use:

• A Certificate of Naturalization
• A Certificate of Citizenship
• A Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America (Form FS-240)
• A Certification of Birth (Form FS-545 or DS-1350)

If you do not have any of these documents and are a U.S. citizen, you should call the National Passport Information Center at 1-900-225-5674 for assistance.

3. Proof of identity.

You must also establish your identity to the satisfaction of the person accepting your application. The following items are generally acceptable documents of identity, if they contain your signature and if they readily identify you by physical description or photograph:

• A previous U.S. passport
• A Certificate of Naturalization or Citizenship
• A valid driver's license
• A government issued (Federal, state, municipal) identification card

The following are not acceptable:

• A Social Security card
• A learner's or temporary driver's license
• A credit card of any type
• Any temporary or expired identity card or document
• Any document that has been altered or changed

4. Photographs.

You must present two identical photographs of yourself that are sufficiently recent (normally taken within the past 6 months) to be a good likeness. Passport Services encourages photographs where the applicant is relaxed and smiling.

The photographs must not exceed 2x2 inches in size. The image size measured from the bottom of your chin to the top of your head (including hair) must be not less than 1 inch nor more than 1-3/8 inches with your head taking up most of the photograph. Passport photographs may be either black and white or color.

Photographs must be clear, front view, full-face, and printed on thin, white paper with a plain, white or off-white background. Photographs should be portrait-type prints taken in normal street attire without a hat and must include no more than the head and shoulders or upper torso. Dark glasses are not acceptable except when worn for medical reasons. Head coverings are only acceptable, if they are worn for religious reasons.

Applicants may use photographs in military uniform only if they are on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and are proceeding abroad in the discharge of their duties.

Newspaper, magazine and most vending machine prints are not acceptable for use in passports.

5. The correct fee for applying for a passport in person.

Applicants age 16 and over, who are required to appear in person, must pay $60 for their passport. This includes a $15 execution fee. The passport is valid for 10 years. Applicants age 15 and under must pay $40 for their passport. This includes a $15 execution fee. The passport is valid for 5 years.

You may pay by check, bank draft, or money order, payable to Passport Services. You may also pay in cash (exact change only) at a passport agency and at some, but not all post offices and clerks of court.

How to Apply for a Passport by Mail

You may apply by mail if you meet the following requirements:

• You can submit your most recent passport.
• Your previous passport was issued on or after your 16th birthday and was issued within the past 12 years.
• You use the same name as that on your most recent passport or you have had your name changed by marriage or court order, and can submit proof of the change in name

Obtain Form DSP-82, Application for Passport by Mail, from one of the U.S. passport agencies, from a Federal or state court, from a U.S. post office that is authorized to accept passport applications, from your travel agent, or from the Internet at http://travel.state.gov Complete the information requested on the reverse side of the form.

(1) Sign and date the application.

(2) Include your date of departure. If no date is included, passport agents will assume that your travel plans are not immediate, and you will receive your passport within 25 working days from receipt of the application at the passport agency.

(3) Enclose your previous passport. (Your previous passport and other documents that you may have submitted will be returned to you with your new passport.)

(4) Enclose two identical 2x2 photographs.

(5) Enclose the $40 passport fee. (The $15 execution fee is not required for applicants eligible to apply by mail.)

(6) If your name has changed, submit the original or certified copy of the court order or marriage certificate that shows the change of name.

(7) The person that you list to be notified in case of an emergency should be someone who could act on your behalf. The person should be someone to whom you have given or could give a power of attorney.

(8) For processing, mail the completed application and attachments to the National Passport Center, listed on the application form. An incomplete or improperly prepared application will delay issuance of your passport.

(9) If requesting Expedited Service, include the $35.00 expedite fee.

How to Pay the Passport Fee

The following forms of payment are acceptable when you apply by mail:

• A bank draft or a cashier's check
• A check: either a certified check, a personal check, or a traveler's check (The check should be made out for the exact amount
• A money order: either a U.S. postal money order, an international money order, a currency exchange money order or a bank money order
• Checks must be made payable to Passport Services.

Sign it right away! Fill in page 5, the personal notification data page. (For the emergency contact, do not include the name of your traveling companion; instead, write in pencil the name, address, and telephone number of someone who is not traveling with you.) Your previous passport and other documents that you may have submitted will be returned to you with your new passport.

Other Passport Information

Expedited Service

It normally takes 25 business days from receipt of the complete application by a passport agency to return your passport. If you wish or need to receive your passport sooner, you may request expedited service for processing of the passport within 3 business days from receipt of the application by a passport agency. The fee for expedited service is $35.00 per application, which is in addition to the regular passport fee.

If you request expedited service, your departure date should be clearly shown on the application. Anyone who pays the $35.00 expedite fee and submits a complete application will be given expedited service.

If you plan to travel in more than two weeks, but need a passport urgently, it is strongly recommended that you arrange for two-way overnight delivery of the passport to prevent delays. If you are leaving within two weeks, it is recommended that you go to the nearest passport agency to apply.

For additional details, you may check with the National Passport Information Center.

If you plan to travel abroad frequently or if you stay overseas for long periods of time, your relatives or associates in the United States should have valid passports as well. That way, if you were to become seriously ill or involved in some other emergency, they could travel without delay. Also, you should leave with them your passport number and the date and place of the passport's issuance.

Diplomatic and Official Passports

If you are being assigned abroad on U.S. government business and are eligible to apply by mail for a no-fee passport (no-fee regular passport, official passport, diplomatic passport), you must submit the mail-in application form, your authorization to apply for a no-fee passport, your previous passport, and two photographs to the Special Issuance Agency in Washington, D.C. for processing. The address is 1111 19th Street, N.W., Suite 350, Washington, D.C. 20522-1705.

Additional Visa Pages

Should you require additional visa pages before your passport expires, you can obtain them by submitting your passport to one of the passport agencies listed at the back of this pamphlet. If you travel frequently to countries requiring visas, you may request a 48-page passport at the time that you apply. There is no additional charge for extra pages or for a 48-page passport.

Change of Name

If you have changed your name, you will need to have your passport amended. Fill out Form DSP-19, Passport Amendment/Validation Application, which is available from any office that is authorized to accept passport applications. The form can also be downloaded from this site. Submit the DSP-19 along with proof of the name change (a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or certified court order) to the nearest passport agency. There is no fee for this service, except if expedite service is requested.

An Altered or Mutilated Passport

If your U.S. passport is mutilated or altered in any way (other than changing the personal notification data), you may render it invalid, cause yourself much inconvenience, and expose yourself to possible prosecution under the law (Section 1543, Title 22 of the U.S. Code).

Mutilated or altered passports should be turned in to passport agents, authorized postal employees, or U.S. consular officers abroad.

Loss or Theft of a U.S. Passport

It is important that you safeguard your passport. Its loss could cause you unnecessary travel complications as well as significant expense.

If your passport is lost or stolen in the United States, you should apply for a new passport and complete Form DSP-64, Statement Regarding Lost or Stolen Passport, which is available at U.S. passport agencies, or it can be downloaded from this site.

If your passport is lost or stolen abroad, you should report the loss immediately to the local police and to the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. If you can provide the consular officer with the information contained in your passport, it will facilitate issuance of a new passport. Therefore, it is a good idea to make two photocopies of the data page of your passport. Keep one copy separately from your passport to take with you on your trip, and leave the other copy with a relative or friend in the United States. It is also a good idea to carry two extra passport size photos with you.

Do You Have Other Questions About Passports?

Additional passport information may be obtained from the National Passport Information Center (NPIC). Callers can dial 1-900-225-5674* to receive passport applications or additional information about passport emergencies, applying for a U.S. passport, and to check on the status of a passport application. Automated information is available 24-hours/day, 7 days/week. Operators can be reached Monday-Friday, excluding Federal holidays, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Services are provided in English, Spanish and by TDD (1-900-225-7778*).

* The cost per minute for 1-900 calls is $.35 for the automated system and $1.05 for live operators. This service also includes an optional number: 1-888-362-8668 (TDD 1-888-498-3648) for those calling with blocked 1-900 service. These calls require a credit card for payment of a flat rate of $4.95 per call.