How To Apply For A Baby’s First Passport

It is said that there is a learning curve when it comes to becoming a parent. Even though we don't have any immediate travel plans for him, I wanted to make sure he got a passport as soon as possible.

I thought it would be useful for other parents to know the process of applying for a newborn baby's first passport.

Our experience applying for a newborn’s passport

How do I apply for a baby's first passport? It requires some attention to detail, but it is easier than I thought. There are a number of important things to know.

• You need the baby’s birth certificate before you can apply for a passport; this is typically mailed to the parents after birth, and it can take up to a few weeks for it to arrive
• Once you’ve received your baby’s birth certificate, I’d recommend first making a passport appointment, as this typically requires at least a couple of weeks notice
• Once you’ve completed the application, both parents need to submit the documents at a passport acceptance facility; fortunately many post offices are acceptance facilities, so most people shouldn’t have to go far to do this
• You can expect that it will take 7-10 weeks for standard processing, 4-6 weeks for expedited processing, and if you have travel within 14 days, you can get it expedited even faster
• Once issued, the passport is valid for five years

Let's talk about my experience in the order in which I went through it. The Department of State has a great website that lays out the process.

Getting a passport application appointment

You should make an appointment at a passport acceptance facility if you have a baby. Everything from post offices to city halls to libraries is included. This should be close by for most people.

The first appointment was available a couple of weeks ago. We made an appointment after receiving Miles' birth certificate. It doesn't take long to fill out the paperwork and get all the documents in order, so the wait for an appointment is the limiting factor here.

Filling out passport application & collecting documents

You need to fill out form DS-11 if you want to apply for a passport for a baby. Either you can download this as a PDF or use the form filler feature. I decided to go with the latter. You need to make sure that you check everything.

You have to complete the form all over again if you want to make any changes to your handwriting.

There are multiple options for documents you can submit on this page and you can find all the required documents on this page. We brought the documents to the passport acceptance facility.

• A certified copy of the birth certificate, plus a photocopy of it; this kills two birds with one stone, as it provides US citizenship evidence for the baby, and also proves parental relationship
• Both parents need to present a form of ID, plus a photocopy of it, so we both presented our passports, as well as photocopies of our passports
• If both parents can attend the appointment then there’s no need to prove parental consent beyond that, while if only one parent can attend, there’s additional paperwork that needs to be filled out

Taking a passport photo for a newborn baby

The requirements for a passport sized photo of your baby can be found here. If you have a baby that is a few weeks old, it can be difficult to get them to open their eyes and take a picture.

We had him lie down on a white sheet when he was awake. It wasn't hard to get him to sit up and hold his neck in front of the white background. The passport photo is probably the prettiest thing I have ever seen. New parents might have a good time with this. We went to the drugstore to get it printed.

He will have his passport photo for the rest of his life.

Paying fees for a new passport

Preparing in advance for applying for a new passport is one of the costs associated with it. You can pay the $35 fee with credit card, debit card, or cash. It's easy.

It's difficult to pay the Department of State. You can expect to pay in the near future.

• The cost for a passport book is $100, while the cost for a passport card is $15; so both would cost $115
• If you want to expedite the application, that costs an extra $60
• If you want to pay extra to have it shipped back to you with anything but regular mail, that will cost extra, though the fee will vary; you’ll be told what the fee is during the application process

The money order needs to be made out to the U.S. Department of State. The passport acceptance facility can give you a money order, but you need to check where you are.

Submitting your passport application

We went to the post office. The process was easy, but disorganized. You can just wait in the general line for passport appointments. We told the employee we were applying for a passport and she offered to help. I wonder if you need an appointment or not.

The process took a long time. She filled out the part of the application that is supposed to be done by an official. She looked at the passport photo and then sent us away.

Tracking the status of your passport application

On September 12th, we applied for Miles' passport. It can take two weeks from the date of application for it to even show as being in process, though you can track it here. The last name, date of birth, and last four digits of the social security number are required to track the application.

The application is supposed to arrive in 3-6 weeks. It took just over four weeks for the passport to arrive. We are going to take it.

Bottom line

It was easy to apply for an infant's first passport. Wait for the baby's birth certificate to arrive, make an appointment at a passport acceptance facility, complete the application, have fun taking a passport photo, attend the appointment, and then wait.

It would have been even more painless if I had a check book. It took just over four weeks for our expedited passport to arrive in the mail.

Since infants can't go through immigration based on their parents being members, we need to apply for global entry. Our experience with that process will be reported back by me.

What did you think about applying for a passport for a baby?