What Documents Do You Need for a Passport? 2026 Checklist
The documents a first-time US passport needs: citizenship proof, ID, and how the fee is actually paid, by check or money order only.
The short answer
For a first-time US passport, the core **documents you need for a passport** are proof of citizenship (a certified birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or a valid previous passport), a government-issued photo ID, and one 2×2 inch photo. You also need your Social Security number. The application fee itself, $130 for an adult book, can only be paid by check or money order, never cash or a card.
Most first-time applicants find out what they are missing at the counter, not before. A birth certificate that turns out to be the hospital keepsake instead of the state-issued one, or a payment method the facility will not take, sends you home to start over. So does a name that no longer matches the certificate.
This works through exactly what you need to bring, what counts as acceptable proof of each item, and the payment split that trips up more applicants than any single document does.
What you need before you apply
- Proof of US citizenship: a certified birth certificate, Certificate of Naturalization, Certificate of Citizenship, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a valid previous US passport
- A government-issued photo ID: driver’s license, military ID, or a previous passport
- One 2×2 inch color photo, taken in the last six months
- Your Social Security number
- A check or money order for the $130 application fee, payable to the US Department of State
- A separate payment for the facility’s execution fee, if you are applying in person
Proving you’re a US citizen: which document works
The State Department accepts five kinds of primary evidence, and a birth certificate is the one most first-time applicants use. It has to be a certified copy from a state or county vital records office, carrying a raised seal or the registrar’s certification and the registrar’s signature.
It also has to show your full name, date and place of birth, and your parents’ names, and it has to have been filed within one year of the birth.
A hospital-issued “souvenir” certificate or a baptismal record is not accepted on its own. These are keepsakes, not government vital records, and the acceptance agent will treat them as secondary evidence at best.
Naturalized citizens present a Certificate of Naturalization. Citizens through a US citizen parent present a Certificate of Citizenship. Anyone born abroad to a US citizen parent can use a Consular Report of Birth Abroad. A previous undamaged US passport also works as citizenship evidence on its own, which is one reason renewing is simpler than applying the first time.
| Document | Who it’s for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Certified birth certificate | Most first-time applicants born in the US | Raised seal or registrar certification, filed within 1 year of birth |
| Certificate of Naturalization | Naturalized citizens | Issued by USCIS, bring the original |
| Certificate of Citizenship | Citizens through a US citizen parent | Also issued by USCIS |
| Consular Report of Birth Abroad | Born abroad to a US citizen parent | Treated as equivalent to a birth certificate |
| Previous US passport | Anyone who already holds one | Must be undamaged; renewal eligibility depends on how recently it was issued |
What if you don’t have a birth certificate?
Start with your state or county vital records office. If there is no record on file, request a Letter of No Record, a formal statement that no birth certificate exists for you at that registrar.
Submit that letter alongside one early public record and one early private record, ideally from the first five years of your life. A baptismal record, school record, or family Bible entry showing your date and place of birth all qualify.
You will also complete Form DS-10, a birth affidavit signed by someone with personal knowledge of your birth, typically a parent.
Proving who you are: acceptable photo ID
A valid driver’s license, a government or military ID, or a previous US passport all work as primary identification. It has to be a physical document. A mobile driver’s license or a digital state ID on your phone is not accepted, and you will need a photocopy of the front and back to submit with your application.
If you don’t have one of those, two secondary forms of ID can substitute, such as an out-of-state license or a non-photo ID paired with something that confirms your identity.
With no acceptable ID at all, an identifying witness who has known you personally can complete Form DS-71. They sign it in front of the same acceptance agent and present their own valid photo ID at the same appointment.
What if your name doesn’t match your citizenship document?
Marriage, divorce, or a court order can leave your legal name different from the one on your birth certificate. Bring the certified document that made the change: a certified marriage certificate, a divorce decree, or a certified court order, each carrying the issuing authority’s official seal. A photocopy or a notarized copy alone is not enough.
If your current photo ID already shows your married name, you typically do not need a separate name-change document. Where none of the standard paperwork exists, Form DS-60 lets two people who have known you under both names sign an affidavit instead.
Do you need to write your Social Security number?
Yes. Federal law requires you to provide your Social Security number on the application if you have one, in box 5 of Form DS-11. Leaving it off, or entering it wrong, can delay processing and carries a possible $500 penalty enforced by the IRS under the same tax provision.
If you have never been issued a Social Security number, enter zeros in that box and attach a signed statement confirming it.
The photo you bring yourself
The one document in this list you create rather than collect: a 2×2 inch color photo, taken within the last six months, against a plain white or off-white background. Photo booths and most pharmacies offer this for a small fee.
The full sizing, background and expression rules are covered in what counts as a valid passport photo, since getting the photo rejected is its own common delay.
How passport fees are actually paid
This is where documents and payment collide, and it catches people who have everything else in order. The application fee goes to the US Department of State, and it can only be paid by check, certified check, cashier’s check, traveler’s check, or money order.
That payment must be made out exactly to “U.S. Department of State.” Cash and debit or credit cards are not accepted for this portion, at any facility.
The execution fee, $35, is a separate payment to the facility itself, and how you can pay it depends on where you apply. USPS post offices generally take a check or money order payable to “Postmaster,” plus debit or credit cards.
A county clerk’s office sets its own policy, and some restrict payment to a check or money order only, so it’s worth calling ahead.
Note: the payee name matters more than it sounds. A check or money order made out to “State Dept” or “USDOS” instead of the exact “U.S. Department of State” is a documented reason applications get sent back.
| Paid to | Accepted forms | Not accepted | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application fee ($130 adult book) | US Department of State | Check, certified check, cashier’s check, traveler’s check, money order | Cash, debit card, credit card |
| Execution fee ($35, in person only) | The acceptance facility | Varies: USPS takes check/money order plus debit or credit; county clerks set their own rules | Confirm with your specific facility beforehand |
For the full breakdown of what each document and age group actually costs, how much a passport costs has the complete fee table by book, card, and renewal. If you’re still deciding which application form applies to your situation, DS-82 versus the form you actually need sorts that out first.
Applying for a child
A child’s passport always uses Form DS-11 and always needs an in-person appointment, with both parents or guardians present, even for a renewal. There is no mail option for anyone under 16, regardless of how recent a previous passport was.
If only one parent can attend, the absent parent provides a notarized Form DS-3053 giving written consent, valid for 90 days from the date it’s signed. Without it, or without Form DS-5525 for a documented exceptional circumstance, the application is not accepted. The full document list and fee breakdown for minors is in how to get a baby a passport.
What a missing or wrong document costs you
- A birth certificate that isn’t a certified copy sends the whole application back, not just that one page
- A photo ID that’s a digital or mobile version means starting the identity step over with a physical document
- A check or money order made out to the wrong payee delays the refund and the application together
- A missing name-change document at a mismatch means a second trip once you locate it
- Missing the Social Security number risks a processing delay and a possible IRS penalty, not just a form rejection
Your appointment didn’t go as planned
- Birth certificate rejected as insufficient. Request a Letter of No Record from the registrar the same day, and start gathering early public and private records rather than waiting to see if the first attempt is reconsidered.
- No acceptable photo ID on hand. Ask whether the facility can process an identifying witness on Form DS-71 that day. Not every acceptance facility offers this, so calling ahead saves the trip.
- Payment refused for the wrong payee name. Most facilities will let you purchase a corrected money order on the spot; ask before you leave.
- Name mismatch flagged at the counter. Bring the certified marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order to the same appointment if you can retrieve it quickly, rather than rescheduling blind.
- Still unresolved. Call the National Passport Information Center at 877-487-2778, weekdays 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern and weekends 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern.
Frequently asked questions
In short
The documents behind a passport application split into three groups: proof you’re a citizen, proof of who you are, and proof you can pay, in the specific forms each portion of the fee accepts. Most delays trace back to one of those three, not to the application itself.
The one detail worth remembering above the rest: the application fee is check or money order only, made out exactly to “U.S. Department of State,” and it is a separate payment from whatever the facility charges to process it.
Rules change without much notice. If something here no longer matches what you were told at the desk, tell us and we will correct it.
