Before you can travel with your kids anywhere outsides the country, you will first need to apply for their passport. This is mandatory, regardless of the child’s age, at least until it turns 16 years of age. Here is what you will need to have, so check out this article if you want that process to be smooth:

1. DS-11 Form

This is an application for the US Passport. It has to be submitted in person and at a place that is authorized for that, such as the post office. When submitting this application, both parents or guardians need to be present with the child, although there are cases when that is not necessary, in which case a court order or a death certificate need to be presented, depending on the case.

2. Proof of Citizenship

A proof of the child’s citizenship will have to be provided. This is easily done with the original birth certificate, that has the register’s signature and the multi-colored seal. This document is returned once the child gets the passport. If the child is born in another country, you will have to provide a “Report of Foreign Birth” instead.

3. Proof of Parenthood

You will have to provide some proof that you are the child’s parents. This can be a photocopy of your ID, your passport, driver’s license, military ID or and employee ID in case that you are employed by the City, State or are a Federal employee.

4. Photos

There are strict rules as to how the photo should look like, so make sure that you get a professional photographer to do this. Also, keep in mind that a passport photo has to be of specific size (bigger than your ID or driver’s license photo) and that, the background has to be gray. Most post offices also have a passport photo service included.

5. Fees

A child’s passport costs 120$ and this includes two different fees that you have to pay. The first one is the application fee itself. This one will cost you 95$, while the execution fee will be another 25$. This can be payed in cash, or you can use a personal check, credit card or money order. Some acceptance facilities do not accept cash money, so you need to check this with the post office beforehand.

6. Time and Appointment in the Post Office

Finally, don’t forget to inquire about the hours that the post office is accepting the applications. Make an appointment and then come over with all of the needed documents and copies. Fill out the form completely, but leave it unsigned. You need to do this with the acceptance agent present.

Your child now has a passport and you can all now enjoy traveling together as a family and being in another country. As you can see, you will need a few documents for the whole process to be done with, but once your child has a passport and you can all now enjoy traveling together as a family and being in another country.

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