When applying for a U.S. passport, evidence of U.S. citizenship must be submitted with Form DS-11. All documentation submitted as citizenship evidence will be returned to you.

Primary Evidence of U.S. Citizenship:

As of April 1st, 2011 the U.S Department of State will require the full names of applicant's parent(s) to be listed on ALL certified Birth Certificates to be considered as primary evidence of U.S citizenship for all passport applicants, regardless of age. Certified Birth Certificates missing this information will not be acceptable as evidence of citizenship.

In Addition to this requirement, certified copies of birth certificates must also include the following information to be considered acceptable primary evidence of U.S citizenship.

*Full name of the applicant
*Date of birth
*Place of birth
*Raised, Embossed, impressed or multicolored seal of issuing authority
*Registrar's signature
*The date the certificate was filed with the registrar's office (must be within one year)

If you cannot obtain a birth certificate that meets these requirements, please see Secondary Evidence of U.S Citizenship.

When applying for a U.S. passport, acceptable identification must be presented at the time of application.

Primary Identification (One of the following):

Previously issued, undamaged U.S. passport
Naturalization Certificate
Valid Driver's License
Current Government ID (city, state or federal)
Current Military ID (military and dependents)

When you proceed to the Post Office or Court House the clerk will take your Driver's License or ID details. (Not the original) Click here to locate your nearest local acceptance agent.

One recent professional passport-type photograph

Quality Requirements for Passport Book & Passport Card Photographs
Digital and non-passport photographs are not acceptable.

Click here to print the Authorization Letter

TDS recommends using the sample above.

Letter MUST have an original signature, faxes, scans, photocopies, etc are NOT accepted by the United States Passport Agency.

Complete and sign TWO Authorization Letters. One letter will be placed inside your seal envelope by the clerk, the other will be placed inside your Fed Ex package.

You must include your mutilated passport, which is usually not returned to the applicant.

A letter signed by the applicant addressed to "Attn: U.S. Passport Agency.." explaining how the passport was damaged.

Copy of itinerary or air tickets showing departure date from the U.S. or a letter from your employer stating you have immediate international travel.

A copy of your itinerary, air tickets or letter from your employer is required for Same Day/Next Day or priority processing.
It is not required for 6-8 or 8-14 day processing.

Please include one copy inside the sealed envelope, a second copy will be placed inside your Fed Ex package.

Application Form for child under 16 years click here

Print TWO copies of the completed DS-11 form. Do not sign the DS-11 until you are instructed to do so by the acceptance agent. Give one DS-11 to the acceptance agent to be placed inside the sealed envelope. The second DS-11 is to be placed inside your Fed Ex package to TDS.

The US Passport Agency has introduced an Online based application form, this Online style
application must be used in all expediting cases. Failure to use this Online application may cause
delays in processing times.
TIP: This Online application has replaced "Hand Written" applications, YOU ARE NOT APPLYING
ONLINE you are only completing the questions by typing them onto the application.
The last page of the application is a Print summary page, please scroll to the bottom left corner of
this page and CLICK CREATE FORM you will then be able to print and sign your application.

A correctly formatted application should have a BAR CODE on the top left corner, and DS-11 printed
on the bottom left of the application.

To view a correctly formatted application form please Click Here

Once you have gathered together all the required documents detailed above, you must now proceed to a local passport acceptance agent to have your documents signed, executed, witnessed and sealed into an envelope by the acceptance agent. This process is referred to as the "Passport Execution Process" or "Sealed Application Procedure". Your local passport acceptance agent is usually a Post Office or County Court House, Click here to locate your nearest local acceptance agent.

Applicants will be required to write two checks while at your local acceptance location, one for the Government fees and one to the local acceptance agent. These fees are explained in detail under our Government Fees section.

Please Note: DO NOT send your documents to Travel Document Systems until you have had your documents executed by your local acceptance agent.

If you require Same Day/Next Day processing, you must have an appointment scheduled with Traveldocs to proceed. Please call 1-800-874-5100 for an appointment. Traveldocs must receive your documents at least one business day prior to your appointment. This appointment allows Traveldocs to submit you passport application to the US Passport Agency on your behalf. (You are not required to appear in person at Traveldocs office).

If you require 2-5 day, 6-8 or 8-14 day processing no appointment is required.

When you proceed to the Post Office or Court House please pay the following:

Pay the agent the U.S. government fee, including rush fee, and execution fees. Be prepared to write two checks for the total amount, as the clerk will retain $25.00 execution fee.
$170.00 + $25.00 = $195.00 for adults,
$140.00 + $25.00 = $165.00 for children under 16 years.

Please ask the clerk NOT to include the cost of USPS EXPRESS MAIL return postage in your payment of passport fees, doing so will cause a delay in processing.

Please write your name and date of birth on the check or Money order.

When your application has been Executed and Sealed it must be submitted to the US Passport Agency within 5 business days. If not submitted within 5 business days the documents will expire and will have to be Re-Executed.

You must complete the Online Order Form.

The order form gives TDS your name, address, shipping information and payment method. Multiple applicants can be entered using one order form. You only need to complete one TDS order form per request. Please print two copies of the confirmation page. Include one copy with the documents you ship to TDS and keep one copy for your records.

While completing the online order form in this step, you will be asked how you want to pay TDS fees. You may pay our fees online with a credit card or enclose a personal or business check or money order.

Please be sure to make separate photocopies of:
Your Application Form DS-11
Your Letter of Authorization
Your Proof of Departure (Itinerary)

The following items must be placed inside the sealed envelope executed by the Passport Clerk at the Post Office or County Court, then all documents should be placed inside a FedEx envelope for shipping to Travel Document Systems, Inc:

Your Proof of U.S. Citizenship
The Application Form DS-11, the photograph and the appropriate Government fees
The Letter of Authorization
The Proof of Departure (Itinerary)
Any other required documents

The following items must be placed inside your Fed Ex package to TDS:

The second copy of the Application Form DS-11 (unsigned)
The second copy of the Letter of Authorization (must be signed)
The photocopy of the Proof of Departure (Itinerary)

Copy Online TDS Order Form

Please forward the completed requirements detailed above to:

TRAVEL DOCUMENT SYSTEMS, INC.,
27 West 24th Street, Suite 9D
New York, NY 10010

Urgent applications should be shipped to TDS using only the FedEx Company.
Please use FedEx Priority Overnight. Do NOT ship "First Overnight." This will delay the delivery of your package.

Emergency same day/next day or priority issue applications require proof of departure within 5-7 business days of being submitted to the passport agency and MUST be shipped to TDS using only the FEDEX Company.
Other urgent applications can be issued as fast as 6-8 business days, less urgent applications are issued within 8 - 14 business days.
TDS expedites applications by hand carrying them to the U.S. Passport Agency, and following up on the progress. Please note that TDS is not in a position to be able to offer any guarantees of passports to be issued by a specific date. Issue is determined by urgency of your departure.
Your application will be hand carried to the Passport Agency in Washington DC. There, the Passport Agent will examine the application and if all documents are in order, assign a date the passport will be issued, according to departure date. U.S. Passport applications submitted by mail to passport agencies routinely take 6 to 8 weeks to be processed.

PLEASE FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY. MISSING OR INCORRECT INFORMATION MAY RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT DELAYS

PASSPORT CARDS: The new Passport Cards cannot be expedited at this time and take approximately 4-5 weeks to issue. If you are applying for a regular passport only, please mark the box on your passport application next to "Passport Book". If you also want to apply for a Passport Card you should also mark the box next "Passport Card". There is an additional $55.00 for adults, $30.00 for previous passport holders and $40.00 for minors for new/first time issue government fee for the Passport Card and the Passport Card will be processed separately from your regular passport (in about 4-5 weeks) then mailed to you directly by First Class mail.

Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)

By connecting on the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, State Department will be able to assist you better in the case of an emergency, such as if you lose your passport or it is stolen while you are abroad.