All minors under the age of 16, including newborn babies and infants, must have their own passport to travel internationally by air. In an effort to crack down on child abduction and trafficking, many requirements must be meet before a passport can issued for a minor. It is recommended that you give yourself plenty of time to obtain your child's passport before finalizing any international travel arrangements.

Complete Form DS-11, available from your local acceptance facility or passport agency, or online from the Travel.State.Gov website. You can either complete the form online and print it, or print it and complete it by hand. The form must be printed and completed in black ink and printed on one-sided pages. Do not sign the form.

Appear in person with your 2-year-old child at an acceptance facility or passport agency. Visit the Passport Acceptance Facility Search Page of the Travel.State.Gov website to find your nearest passport application location. Enter your search criteria, including zip code, state and city, and click "Search" to generate a list of the nearest facilities.

Submit Form DS-11 with evidence of your child's U.S. citizenship. Acceptable documents are a previously-issued, undamaged U.S. passport; a city, county or state-issued certified birth certificate; a consular report of birth abroad or certification of birth; a naturalization certificate or a certificate of citizenship. One document is required.

Submit evidence of your relationship to the child (as his parent or guardian). Acceptable documents are the minor's certified U.S. birth certificate stating both parents' names, the minor's certified foreign birth certificate stating both parents' names, the minor's report of birth abroad stating both parents' names, an adoption decree stating the adopting parents' names, a court order establishing custody or a court order establishing guardianship. One document is required.

Submit the second parent's notarized Statement of Consent (Form DS-3053) if you are the sole parent or guardian appearing.

Show identification in the form of one of the following: A previously issued, undamaged U.S. passport, a naturalization certificate, a valid driver's license, a current government employee ID (city, state or federal) or a current military ID (military and dependents).

Submit a photocopy of the identification with your child's passport application.

Submit a 2-inch by 2-inch passport photograph of your child, which must be clear, correctly exposed and taken in the last six months. Make sure nobody else is in the photograph and that your child is looking at the camera with his eyes open.

Sign Form DS-11 when instructed to do so by the acceptance agent.

Pay the application fee and the execution fee.

Tip

  • Applications submitted at a passport office normally take up to six weeks to process. An expedited service is available, which reduces the waiting time to 2-3 weeks, for an additional fee. If you need a passport even sooner, you need to apply at a passport agency or through an express passport service.

About the Author

C. Giles is a writer with an MA (Hons) in English literature and a post-graduate diploma in law. Her work has been published in several publications, both online and offline, including "The Herald," "The Big Issue" and "Daily Record."

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