Your children rely on you to do many things for them, and filling out
a passport application is one of them. Passport application forms are
written for adult applicants, so it can be a little confusing. There are
also additional documents required when applying on behalf of a child.
Here's what you need to know about filling out the application form on behalf of your child:
-
Use Form DS-11 when applying on behalf of a child under the age of 16, even if he or she has a previous passport.
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Remember that the form is written for adult applicants. Answer each
question as if you were your child. The form asks for the applicant's
name twice- both times, you should print your child's name instead of
your own.
-
Sign the form on behalf of your child, but don't do so until you've
arrived at the passport office and the agent helping you with your
application has instructed you to do so. After you sign your name, print
"Mother" or "Father" as applicable.
Documents Required
The other tricky
part of completing a child's passport application is gathering all of
the necessary documents. The document requirements for child passports
are more intensive than those for adult passports, mainly because you
not only have to prove that your child is a citizen, but also that you
are authorized to apply for a passport on his or her behalf. Here's what
you'll need:
- Government-issued photo ID for you, such as a driver's license or a
state ID card. You'll need both the original to take to the passport
office and clean photocopy to send to Passport Services.
-
Proof of your relationship to the child, such as a birth certificate, adoption decree or court order granting custody.
-
If both parents are unable to be at the passport office with the
child, you'll also need proof that the other parent consents to the
child getting a passport. Have the other parent fill out a copy of Form
DS-3053 and get it notarized, then bring that with you to the passport
office.
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If you have sole legal custody of the child in question, you don't
need the other parent's permission but you do need to bring one of the
following when you go to submit the passport application:
a birth certificate for the child with only your name on it, an
adoption decree with only your name on it, a court order awarding sole
custody of the child to you or officially permitting international
travel, a copy of the other parent's death certificate or legal
paperwork showing that the other parent has been declared incompetent.
-
One passport photo.
At the passport office, you'll submit the paperwork, pay the
fees, and if all goes well you'll have a passport for your child in
about six weeks, or three weeks if you expedited the application.
Author,
Alison Kroulek
