Last Update: 12/30/15

All U.S. citizens, including children, are required to obtain passports in their own names for identification while traveling abroad and for re-entry into the United States. Unless specifically authorized by a passport issuing office, no person may have more than one valid, or potentially valid, U.S. passport of the same type at any one time. Following is a summary of the passport application process that was compiled from information provided by the U.S. State Department, which maintains a web site at http://travel.state.gov/passport_services.html.

You can download PDF versions of all applications at http://travel.state.gov/download_applications.html.

FIRST-TIME PASSPORT APPLICATIONS

If you are applying for your first U.S. Passport, you must apply in person at one of over 3500 Clerks of Court or Post Offices that accept passport applications or at one of the regional Passport Agencies listed below. Call your county courthouse or the largest regional post office in your area or look under the blue pages of your phone book. You will need to provide the following documents:

1. Proof of United States citizenship or nationality such as: a certified copy of a birth certificate (one issued from a government office, not a hospital) for all applicants born in the US, a Certificate of Naturalization or Citizenship, or an expired US passport.

2. Proof of identity (photo ID with signature) such as a previous U.S. passport, a Certificate of Naturalization or Citizenship, a valid driver’s license, or a valid government or military identification card.

3. Two identical passport photographs taken within the last six months. The photographs must be 2x2 inches with an image size between 1 and 1 3/8 inches. Photographs must be a front view, full face, taken in normal street attire without a hat or dark glasses, with a plain white background.

4. A completed passport application form DSP-11 which contains all the requested information except your signature. This form must be signed in the presence of an authorized executing official.

PASSPORT RENEWALS

Applicants who have had a previous U.S. passport issued within the past 12 years, and who were 16 or older when the passport was issued, may be eligible to apply for a new passport by mail providing they can submit their passport and their name has not changed. They may also apply in person. Documents required for passport renewals include:

1. U.S. Passport

2. Two passport photos

3. A completed passport application form DSP-82 that contains all the requested information and is signed and dated. You can order an application form by calling the passport agency nearest you. Mail the completed application and attachments to:

National Passport Center
P.O. Box 371971
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7971

If you are sending your renewal by overnight delivery other than the U.S. Postal Service, send it to:

Mellon Bank
Attn: Passport Supervisor, 371971
3 Mellon Bank Center, Room 153-2723
Pittsburgh, PA 15259-0001

Your previous passport will be returned to you with your new passport.

PASSPORT FEES

Passport fees for an initial ten-year passport are $60 if you are 16 years of age or over;, and $40 for a five-year passport if under 16. Note that the fee for a passport is written out as a check or money order to Passport Services for $45 & $15 to the county clerk's office, so you may need to bring two checks. Passport renewal fees are $40. Some local governments are now charging additional processing fees as well.

BEST TIME TO APPLY

Passport application processing time varies with passport agencies workloads. It is best to apply in the fall when workload volume is at its lowest. Processing time is normally about 3-4 weeks, but you should apply at least 4-6 weeks prior to any scheduled international travel. The spring and summer months are the busiest so the application process may take longer during these months.

WHAT IF YOU NEED A PASSPORT IN A HURRY?

If you are leaving on an emergency trip within five working days, apply in person at the nearest passport agency and present your tickets or travel itinerary from an airline, as well as the other required items. Or, mail your application overnight express mail and enclose a include a self-addressed, prepaid envelope for the overnight return of the passport, with a check made out to Passport Services and request for its return by overnight express mail. Be sure to include your dates of departure and travel plans on your application. Applications are processed according to the departure date indicated on the application form. If you give no departure date, the passport agency will assume you have no immediate travel plans. If you are leaving the country in less than 15 workdays, enclose a $35 expediting fee (in addition to the overnight mail fee) and clearly mark the envelope "EXPEDITE."

KEEP YOUR PASSPORT IN A SAFE PLACE

When traveling abroad, carry your passport with you at all times in a safe place. It is a good idea to take a photocopy of your passport with you and keep it in a separate safe place along with copies of your credit cards, traveler's checks and plane tickets. If your passport is lost or stolen, U.S. embassies will usually accept this as proof that you're a U.S. citizen and can quickly issue you a temporary passport. It's also a good idea to leave a copy of your passport with someone at home in case of emergency.

OBTAINING ADDITIONAL VISA PAGES

If you require additional visa pages before your passport expires, submit your passport with a signed request for extra pages to one of the passport agencies listed below. If you travel abroad frequently, you may request a 48-page passport at the time of application.

CHANGING YOUR NAME ON YOUR PASSPORT

If your name has been changed, you may have your current, valid passport amended with this new name. To do so, mail your passport with your Court Order, Adoption Decree or Marriage Certificate showing your name change, and a completed passport application form DSP-19 to the Passport Agency nearest you. You must complete the application and sign it in your new name.

INVALID COUNTRIES

Currently, the U.S. Secretary of State has decreed the U.S. passport is not valid for travel to Libya and Iraq.

PASSPORT AGENCIES

All have limited 24-hour recordings, which include basic information about the passport agency location, hours of operation and information regarding emergency passport services during non-working hours.

For additional information try the U. S Department of State's Passport Information web site: http://travel.state.gov/passport_services.html (click Passport Web button below).

You can also listen to automated recordings or talk to a live person by calling the new privately run passport information service at 900-225-5674. Callers will be charged 35 cents per minute for automated service which will explain what's in this document and $1.05 per minute to speak to a live person.

BOSTON Passport Agency
Thomas P. O'Neil Federal Building
10 Causeway Street, Suite 247
Boston, MA 02222-1094
(617) 565-6990
Region: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Upstate New York, & Vermont

CHICAGO Passport Agency
Kluczynski Federal Building
230 S. Dearborn Street, Suite 380
Chicago, IL 60604-1564
(312) 341-6020
Region: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, & Wisconsin

HONOLULU Passport Agency
First Hawaiian Tower
1132 Bishop Street
Suite 500
Honolulu, HI 96813-2809
(808) 522-8283
Region: American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, & Northern Mariana Islands

HOUSTON Passport Agency
Mickey Leland Federal Building
1919 Smith Street
Suite 1100
Houston, TX 77002-8049
(713) 653-3153
Region: Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, & Texas

LOS ANGELES Passport Agency
Federal Building
11000 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 13100
Los Angeles, CA 90024-3615
(310) 235-7070
Region: California (all counties South of an including San Luis Obispo, Kern and San Bernardino), and Nevada (Clark County only)

MIAMI Passport Agency
Claude Pepper Federal Office Building
51 SW First Avenue
3rd Floor
Miami, FL 33120-1680
(305) 539-3600
Region: Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, & U.S. Virgin Islands

NATIONAL Passport Center
31 Rochester Avenue
Portsmouth, NH 03801-2900
(603) 334-0500
Applications Handled: Applications for Passport by Mail (Form DSP-82) and workload transfers from regional passport agencies

NEW ORLEANS Passport Agency
Postal Services Building
701 Loyola Avenue
Suite T-12005
New Orleans, LA 70113-1931
(504) 589-6728
Region: Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia (except D.C. suburbs)

NEW YORK
Court House
212-374-0615
60 Center Street
New York, NY 10007

NEW YORK
FDR Station Post Office
212-330-5660
909 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10022

PHILADELPHIA Passport Agency
U.S. Custom House
200 Chestnut Street
Room 103
Philadelphia, PA 19106-2970
(215) 597-7480
Region: Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, & West Virginia

SAN FRANCISCO Passport Agency
95 Hawthorne Street
5th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 744-4444/4010
(415) 744-4019/4020
Region: Arizona, California (all counties North of and including Monterey, Kings, Oulare, and Inyo), Nevada (except Clark Co.), & Utah

SEATTLE Passport Agency
Henry Jackson Federal Building
915 Second Avenue
Suite 992
Seattle, WA 98174-1091
(206) 220-7788
Region: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, & Wyoming

STAMFORD Passport Agency
One Landmark Square
Broad and Atlantic Streets
Stamford, CT 06901-2667
(203) 325-4401/4402
Region: Connecticut and Westchester County (New York)

WASHINGTON Passport Agency
1111 19th Street, N.W.
Room 300
Washington, D.C. 20522-1705
(202) 647-0518
Region: Maryland, Northern Virginia (including Alexandria, Arlington County, and Fairfax County), and the District of Columbia

SPECIAL ISSUANCE Agency
1111 19th Street, N.W. Room 300
Washington, D.C. 20522-1705
Applications for Diplomatic, Official, and No-Fee passport