[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 22, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 22CFR51.21]

[Page 257-258]
 
                       TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS
 
                     CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE
 
PART 51--PASSPORTS--Table of Contents
 
                         Subpart B--Application
 
Sec. 51.21  Execution of passport application.

    (a) First time applicants or persons who have not been issued a 
passport within the past fifteen years. A person who has never been 
issued a passport in his or her own name, or who has not been issued a 
passport in his or her own name within 15 years of the date of a new 
application, shall appear in person before a person authorized by the 
Secretary to give oaths, verify the application by oath or affirmation 
before that authorized person, provide two recent photographs, and pay 
the established fees.
    (b) Persons authorized by the Secretary to give oaths. The following 
persons are authorized by the Secretary to give oaths for passport 
purposes unless withdrawn by the Secretary in an individual case:
    (1) A passport agent;
    (2) A clerk of any Federal court;
    (3) A clerk of any State court of record or a judge or clerk of any 
probate court;
    (4) A postal employee designated by the postmaster at a post office 
which has been selected to accept passport applications;
    (5) A U.S. citizen employee of the Department of Defense designated 
by the Secretary of Defense to accept passport applications at a 
military installation within the continental United States selected to 
accept passport applications;
    (6) A diplomatic officer, a consular officer, an overseas 
nationality examiner, a consular agent or a notarial officer abroad; or
    (7) Any other persons specifically designated by the Secretary.
    (c) Persons in the United States who have previously been issued a 
full validity passport. A person in the United States who has been 
issued a passport in his or her own name may obtain a new passport by 
filling out and mailing a specially prescribed application together with 
his or her previous passport, two recent photographs, and the 
established fee to the nearest U.S. passport agency, provided:
    (1) The most recently issued previous passport was issued when the 
applicant was 16 years of age or older.
    (2) The application is made not more than 15 years following the 
issue date of the previous passport;
    (3) The most recently issued previous passport is submitted with the 
new application.
    (d) Persons outside of the United States who have previously been 
issued a full validity passport. In a foreign country in which a U.S. 
consular district has been designated by the Secretary to receive such 
passport applications, a person who has been issued a passport in his or 
her own name may obtain a new passport by filling out a specially 
prescribed application and sending it (by mail or as prescribed by the 
Secretary), together with his or her previous passport, two recent 
photographs, and the established fee to the consular office in the 
consular district in which he or she is present, provided:
    (1) The most recently issued passport was issued when the applicant 
was 16 years of age or older.
    (2) The application is made not more than 15 years following the 
issue date of the previous passport;
    (3) The most recently issued previous passport is submitted with the 
new application.
    (4) In a Consular district specifically authorized by the Secretary 
to waive personal appearance of minors in accordance with this 
subsection, a U.S. consular officer may waive the age requirement 
established for use of the mail application, where the consular officer 
determines that:

[[Page 258]]

    (i) The minor and, if applicable, the U.S. citizen parent(s) or 
legal guardian are registered in that consular district;
    (ii) Mail applications abroad on behalf of minors under the age of 
14 must comply with the requirements of Sec. 51.27;
    (iii) The waiver of the age requirement is otherwise in the interest 
of consular efficiency; and,
    (iv) The waiver will not otherwise compromise the integrity of the 
passport application process.

[44 FR 19393, Apr. 3, 1979, as amended at SD-165, 46 FR 2343, Jan. 9, 
1981; 46 FR 16257, Mar. 12, 1981; 51 FR 20475, June 5, 1986; 55 FR 
21538, May 25, 1990; 57 FR 59807, Dec. 16, 1992; 61 FR 43312, Aug. 22, 
1996; 65 FR 39288, June 26, 2000; 66 FR 29906, June 4, 2001]