How to Get a Baby a Passport: Consent, Fees and Timing
How to get a baby a passport: both parents appear in person with Form DS-11, or the absent parent signs a notarized DS-3053. Costs $135, valid 5 years.
The short answer
How to get a baby a passport: file Form DS-11 in person at a passport acceptance facility, with both parents or guardians present and a certified birth certificate as proof of citizenship. If one parent cannot attend, they sign a notarized Form DS-3053 instead. A baby’s first passport book costs $135, is valid for 5 years, and cannot be renewed by mail at any age.
There is no minimum age for a US passport. Parents are often surprised that a two-week-old needs one, but any international flight, even a short connection through Canada, requires a baby to carry their own document. There is no exception for a lap infant who never gets their own seat.
This walks through the form, the consent paperwork when one parent cannot make the appointment, and the photo rules that catch new parents out. It also covers what the whole process costs and takes, checked against the State Department’s published requirements and fee schedule in 2026.
What you need before the appointment
- A certified birth certificate showing the city, county or state of birth, filed within a year of birth, with an official seal
- Both parents’ or guardians’ original government-issued photo ID, plus a photocopy of the front and back of each
- One 2×2 inch passport photo of the baby alone, taken in the last 6 months
- A completed but unsigned Form DS-11, since the acceptance agent must witness the signature
- A notarized Form DS-3053 if only one parent can attend
- A check or money order for the application fee, and a separate payment method for the execution fee
Do babies really need their own passport?
Yes, and airlines enforce it the same way immigration does. A lap infant flying internationally, whether on a parent’s lap or in a purchased seat, is still required to present a valid passport at boarding.
Domestic US flights are different. No government-issued ID is required for a child flying with an adult inside the country, which is where the confusion usually starts. The passport requirement only applies once the itinerary crosses a border, including a short layover in another country.
The only form you will use: DS-11
A baby’s passport always uses Form DS-11, the standard in-person application. There is no online option and no mail-in renewal for anyone under 16, even if the child already holds a passport from a previous trip.
That single fact catches out parents renewing a toddler’s passport the way they would their own. A five-year-old’s expired passport still requires a fresh DS-11 appointment, not a DS-82 mail form. The mail renewal path only opens for applicants who were 16 or older when their previous passport was issued.
Note: do not sign the DS-11 at home. The acceptance agent has to watch the parent sign it during the appointment, and a pre-signed form will be rejected on the spot.
What if only one parent can come to the appointment?
US passport law requires consent from both parents or guardians before a passport is issued to a child under 16. The default is that both appear in person with the baby and their ID.
When one parent genuinely cannot attend, they complete Form DS-3053, a notarized statement of consent. The notary must see their photo ID, and a photocopy of that ID needs to travel to the actual appointment with the applying parent.
The form is only valid for 90 days from the date it is notarized, so it needs to be signed close to the appointment, not months ahead.
Consent paperwork by situation
| Situation | Form needed | Key requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Both parents attend | None beyond DS-11 | Both present original photo ID |
| One parent cannot attend | DS-3053 | Notarized within 90 days of the appointment |
| Sole legal custody | DS-5525, or supporting evidence | Court order, death certificate, or a birth certificate listing one parent only |
| Parent unreachable or missing | DS-5525 | Documented exigent or special family circumstances |
A sole-custody parent does not need the other parent’s consent at all. The acceptance agent still needs to see the evidence: a certified court order granting sole legal custody, a death certificate, or a birth certificate that names only one parent.
Proving citizenship and your relationship to the baby
A single document usually covers both requirements. A certified US birth certificate that lists both parents’ names serves as proof of citizenship and proof of the parent-child relationship in one document. That only holds if it carries the registrar’s seal and was filed within a year of birth.
Hospital-issued souvenir certificates do not qualify, only the certified version from the state or county vital records office. If that certificate has not arrived yet, applying has to wait, since there is no substitute that satisfies both requirements at once.
What makes a baby passport photo get rejected?
The standard 2×2 inch photo rules bend slightly for infants under 12 months. Partial eye opening and a milder expression are acceptable, and a hand supporting the baby’s head is allowed as long as it stays out of the frame. From the first birthday onward, the full adult standard applies.
What does not bend at any age: the baby must be photographed alone, with no toy, pacifier, hand, or car seat visible anywhere in the shot. A photo taken more than 6 months before the appointment is also grounds for rejection.
What does a baby’s passport cost?
A child’s first passport book costs $135 total: a $100 application fee to the State Department plus a $35 execution fee to the acceptance facility. A card-only application is $50, and a book-and-card combination is $150.
How much a passport actually costs breaks every one of those figures down against the adult fee schedule, including why the execution fee is a separate payment. There is no discount for applying for the card only, since a card is not valid for international flights and does not suit a baby who will need to fly.
How long does it take, and how long is it valid?
| Stage | Timing |
|---|---|
| Routine processing | 4-6 weeks |
| Expedited processing | 2-3 weeks, plus $60 |
| 1-3 day return delivery | Extra $22.05 on top of expedited |
| Passport validity, under 16 | 5 years, not renewable by mail |
| Passport validity, 16 and older | 10 years |
A baby’s passport is valid for only 5 years, half the adult term, because a child’s appearance changes too fast for a longer-lived photo to stay useful for identification. That shorter validity is also why the mail-renewal path never opens for a minor: the process always resets to a fresh in-person DS-11.
Where to apply, and when to start
Passport acceptance facilities include most post offices, county clerk’s offices, and some public libraries. Finding a passport office near you covers how to search by ZIP code and book the appointment slot, which some facilities require and others accept as walk-ins.
Start the paperwork as soon as the birth certificate is in hand, not once flights are booked. The certified birth certificate itself can take several weeks to arrive from a state vital records office, and that wait happens before the passport clock even starts.
What goes wrong, and what it costs
A pre-signed DS-11 is rejected outright, forcing a second appointment. An expired DS-3053, one notarized more than 90 days before the visit, is treated the same as no consent at all.
A birth certificate missing the registrar’s seal, or one filed more than a year after birth, will not be accepted as citizenship evidence, and the application cannot proceed that day.
Note: none of these delays waive the $35 execution fee. A rejected application still has to restart with a new appointment, and a new execution fee if the facility charges per visit rather than per approved application.
Formula, breast milk and baby food usually ride in the carry-on once the passport comes through. What actually counts as a liquid at TSA explains why those are screened separately from the standard 3-1-1 rule.
Application delayed or documents rejected
- Check the birth certificate first. Confirm it carries the registrar’s seal and was filed within a year of birth before assuming the delay is on the State Department’s side.
- Verify the DS-3053’s date. A notarization older than 90 days needs to be redone before the appointment, not discovered at the counter.
- Track the application online. The State Department’s status tool covers both routine and expedited applications and updates faster than a phone call.
- Call the National Passport Information Center at 877-487-2778 if processing has run past the quoted window. Representatives are available weekdays 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern, and weekends 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern.
- Ask about expedited service if the delay now threatens booked travel, rather than waiting for routine status to update on its own.
Frequently asked questions
In short
Getting a baby a passport means an in-person DS-11 appointment with a certified birth certificate, both parents present or a notarized DS-3053, and a compliant photo of the baby alone. It costs $135 for the book, takes 4 to 6 weeks routine, and is valid for 5 years with no mail-renewal option ever.
The one step worth starting early: the birth certificate itself, since nothing else in this process can begin without it.
Rules and fees change without much notice. This was checked against the State Department’s published requirements in 2026; if something here no longer matches what you were told at the appointment, tell us and we will correct it.
Once the baby’s passport is sorted, the next practical question for international trips is the destination’s own entry rules. Do you need a visa? US rules for 8 top destinations covers whether the baby needs anything beyond the passport itself.
Sources
- US Department of State: Passport Fees
- US Department of State: Citizenship Evidence
- US Department of State: Photo ID Requirements
- US Department of State: Frequently Asked Questions
- US Department of State: Form DS-3053, Statement of Consent
- US Department of State: Form DS-11, Application for a US Passport
- US Department of State: Contact US Passports
