Applicants Age Below 16
Before You Start, Please Note:
- All Minors under age 16 must apply in person
- All Minors regardless of age, including newborns and infants, must have their own passport when traveling internationally by air
Submit a U.S. Passport Application for a minor under age 16
1. Fill out Form DS-11: Application for a U.S. Passport online or by hand. Please note that you:
- Must not sign the application until instructed to do so by the Consular Officer
- Must provide your SSN in accordance with 26 U.S.C. 6039E. Failure to provide information requested on the form, including your social security number, may result in significant processing delays and/or denial of your application
2. Submit Form DS-11 in Person
- You must make an appointment via U.S. Citizen Services Appointment System to submit Form DS-11. The minor and both parents (or guardians) must appear in person at the Embassy
3. Submit Evidence of U.S. Citizenship
When applying for a U.S. passport in person, evidence of U.S. citizenship must be submitted with Form DS-11. All documentation submitted as citizenship evidence will be returned to you -
- Previously issued, undamaged U.S. passport
- Certified Birth Certificate issued by the city, county or state*
- Consular Report of Birth Abroad
- Naturalization/Citizenship Certificate
*A Certified Birth Certificate has a registrar's raised, embossed, impressed or multicolored seal, registrar's signature, and the date the certificate was filed with the registrar's office, which must be within 1 year of your birth
Beginning April 1, 2011, all Birth Certificate must also include the full names of the applicant's parent(s). For more information, please see New Requirement for all U.S. Birth Certificates
4. Submit Evidence of Relationship
- Minor's certified U.S. Birth Certificate with both parents' name
- Minor's certified Foreign Birth Certificate with both parents' names*
- Minor's Consular Report of Birth Abroad with both parents' names
- Adoption Decree with adopting parents' names*
- Court Order establishing custody
- Court Order establishing guardianship
*All foreign documents submitted with a passport application must be accompanied by an English translation
5. Submit Evidence of Parent(s)/Guardians(s)
When applying for a minor under age 16, both parent(s)/guardian(s) must present acceptable identification at the time of application
- Valid U.S. or Foreign passport
- Valid Official U.S. Military ID
- Valid U.S. Government Employee ID (city, state or federal)
- Naturalization/Citizenship Certificate
6. Provide Parental Consent
Both parents must provide authorizing passport issuance for a minor under age 16. See the scenarios below, and follow the instruction that best applies to your circumstance:
- Both Parents MUST:
- Appear in person with the minor
- Sign Form DS-11 in front of the Consular Officer
- One Parent MUST:
- Appear in person with the minor
- Sign Form DS-11 in front of the Consular Officer
- Submit the second parent notarized Form DS-3053 - Statement of Consent: Issuance of a Passport to a Minor Under Age 16
- One Parent (with sole legal custody) MUST:
- Appear in person with the minor
- Sign Form DS-11 in front of the Consular Officer
- Submit evidence of sole authority to apply for the child
- Minor's certified U.S. or Foreign Birth Certificate listing only the applying parent
- Consular Report of Birth Abroad listing only the apply parent
- Court order granting sole custody to the applying parent (unless child's travel is restricted by that order)
- Adoption Decree (if applying parent is sole adopting parent)
- Death certificate of non-applying parent
7. Provide One Passport Photo
- To avoid processing delays, be sure your photo meets all Passport Photo Requirements
- When submitting Form DS-11 in person, your photo should not be attached to the form
8. Pay the Applicable Fee
- US$105, payable in U.S. dollars or Brunei dollars equivalent in cash only