Passport Applications Rules Change for Minors, Easing Requirements on Parents

A U.S. Passport cover in Washington on May 25, 2021. (Eileen Putman/AP Photo)

The Department of State has finalized a rule change designed to simplify the passport application process for minors under 16 years old and provide more flexibility to their parents, according to a notice published in the Federal Register on July 26.

Under current regulations, both parents or legal guardians must appear in person to execute a minor’s passport application, unless one parent can demonstrate sole authority. If a parent cannot appear, he or she must provide a notarized statement or affidavit of consent.

The State Department said that feedback has indicated that obtaining and mailing notarized documents can be cumbersome and costly for many families.

Effective from Aug. 26, the new policy allows a non-applying parent or legal guardian to sign the required statement of consent (DS-3053) in the presence of a passport specialist at a public passport agency or passport center counters within the United States, offering an alternative to notarization, according to the notice.

The department said the change is aimed at improving customer experience by reducing time, costs, and potential errors associated with notarized documents. Initially, this service will be available for cases with pending applications or other emergency circumstances.

The State Department said that the new rule also provides a more efficient, cost-effective option for parents or legal guardians to correct issues with their previously submitted notarized consent document. The department added that the rule will also address procedural inefficiencies by allowing immediate correction of consent form deficiencies in front of passport specialists.

This change also facilitates the immediate issuance of valid passports in emergencies as the original completed consent forms will be directly accessible by the department.

The rule change follows a public notice and comment period, during which only two comments were received.

One commenter emphasized the necessity of maintaining parental consent to protect minor children. The department’s response said that the new rule continues to uphold the integrity of the passport issuance process, safeguarding minors’ welfare.

The other commenter expressed concern that the proposed rule is too limited to be impactful. However, the Department of State believes the rule will significantly benefit the subset of applicants who use it, according to the federal register notice.

This commenter also noted that the free alternative may have an adverse effect on the income of notaries public. 

“The Department notes, first, that the issue of notary public income is not a reason to keep a requirement for passport applicants if it serves no useful purpose,” the department stated in the rule notice. “Second, this rule will primarily benefit non-applying parents or legal guardians whose children already have pending applications, and in many of these cases, a notarized consent form was already submitted that had issues or deficiencies that need to be resolved. ”

The department said the new regulation does not extend to passport acceptance facilities but that the changes sufficiently alleviate burdens on non-applying parents and improve the overall passport application process.