[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 22, Volume 1]

[Revised as of April 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 22CFR51.27]



[Page 242-244]

 

                       TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS

 

                     CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE

 

PART 51_PASSPORTS--Table of Contents

 

                          Subpart B_Application

 

Sec.  51.27  Minors.



    (a) Definitions. A minor is an unmarried person under the age of 18 

years.

    (b) Execution of the application for minors(1) Minors 14 years of 

age and above. A minor aged 14 and above is required to execute an 

application on his or her



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own behalf unless, in the judgment of the person before whom the 

application is executed, it is not desirable for the minor to execute 

his or her own application. In such a case, it must be executed on 

behalf of the minor aged 14 and above by a parent or guardian of the 

minor or by a person in loco parentis.

    (2) Minors under the age of 14. (i) Minors under 14 years of age 

applying for a passport shall appear in person, unless the personal 

appearance of the minor is specifically waived by a senior passport 

specialist at the issuing passport agency in the United States, or by a 

senior consular officer at the issuing overseas consular office, 

pursuant to guidance issued by the Department of State. In cases where 

such a waiver is granted, the person executing the passport application 

on behalf of the minor shall appear in person and verify the application 

by oath or affirmation before a person authorized by the Secretary to 

give oaths unless, in the case of applications received overseas, these 

requirements are also waived by a senior consular officer, pursuant to 

guidance issued by the Department of State.

    (ii) Except as specifically provided in this section, both parents 

or each of the child's legal guardians, if any, whether applying for a 

passport for the first time or for a renewal, must execute the 

application on behalf of a minor under age 14 under penalty of perjury, 

and provide documentary evidence of parentage showing the minor's name, 

date and place of birth, and the names of the parent or parents.

    (iii) A passport application may be executed on behalf of a minor 

under age 14 by just one parent or legal guardian if such person 

provides, under penalty of perjury:

    (A) Documentary evidence that such person is the sole parent or has 

sole custody of the child; or

    (B) A notarized written statement or notarized affidavit from the 

non-applying parent or guardian, if applicable, consenting to the 

issuance of the passport.

    (iv) An individual may apply in loco parentis on behalf of a minor 

under age 14 by submitting a notarized written statement or a notarized 

affidavit from both parents specifically authorizing the application. 

However, if only one parent provides the notarized written statement or 

notarized affidavit, documentary evidence that such parent has sole 

custody of the child must be presented.

    (v) Documentary evidence in support of an application executed on 

behalf of a minor under age 14 by one parent or person in loco parentis 

under paragraphs (b)(2)(ii) and (iii) of this section may include, but 

is not limited to, the following:

    (A) A birth certificate providing the minor's name, date and place 

of birth and the name of the sole parent;

    (B) A Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United 

States of America (FS-240) or a Certification of Report of Birth of a 

United States Citizen (DS-1350) providing the minor's name, date and 

place of birth and the name of the sole parent;

    (C) An adoption decree showing only one adopting parent;

    (D) An order of a court of competent jurisdiction granting sole 

custody to the applying parent or legal guardian and containing no 

travel restrictions inconsistent with issuance of the passport;

    (E) A judicial declaration of incompetence of the non-applying 

parent;

    (F) An order of a court of competent jurisdiction specifically 

permitting the applying parent's or guardian's travel with the child;

    (G) A death certificate for the non-applying parent; or

    (H) A copy of a Commitment Order or comparable document for an 

incarcerated parent.

    (vi) In instances when a parent submits a custody decree invoking 

the provisions of paragraph (d)(1) of this section, the judicial 

limitations on the minor's ability to travel contained in the custody 

decree will be given effect.

    (vii) The requirements of paragraphs (b)(2)(i), (ii) and (iii) of 

this section may be waived in cases of exigent or special family 

circumstances, as determined by a Department official designated under 

paragraph (b)(2)(vi)(E) of this section.

    (A) Exigent circumstances are defined as time-sensitive 

circumstances in which the inability of the minor to



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obtain a passport would jeopardize the health and safety or welfare of 

the minor or would result in the child being separated from the rest of 

his or her traveling party.

    (B) ``Time-sensitive'' generally means that there is not enough time 

before the minor's emergency travel to obtain either the required 

consent of both parents/guardians or documentation reflecting a sole 

parent's/guardian's custody rights.

    (C) Special family circumstances are circumstances in which the 

minor's family situation makes it impossible for one or both of the 

parents to execute the passport application.

    (D) A parent applying for a passport for a child under age 14 under 

this paragraph (b)(2)(vi) must submit with the application a written 

statement subscribed under penalty of perjury describing the exigent or 

special family circumstances the parent believes should be taken into 

consideration in applying an exception.

    (E) Determinations under this paragraph (b)(2)(vi) may be made by a 

senior passport adjudicator or the Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Passport Services for an application filed within the United States, or 

a consular officer or the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Overseas 

Citizens Services for an application filed abroad.

    (viii) Nothing contained in this section shall prohibit any 

Department official adjudicating a passport application on behalf of a 

minor from requiring an applicant to submit other documentary evidence 

deemed necessary to establish the applying adult's entitlement to obtain 

a passport on behalf of a minor under the age of 14 in accordance with 

the provisions of this regulation.

    (c) Objection by parent, guardian or person in loco parentis in 

cases not involving a custody dispute. At any time prior to the issuance 

of a passport to a minor, the application may be disapproved and a 

passport will be denied upon receipt of a written objection from a 

person having legal custody of the minor.

    (d) Objection by parent, guardian or person in loco parentis in 

cases where minors are the subject of a custody dispute.

    (1)(i) When there is a dispute concerning the custody of a minor 

under age 18, a passport may be denied if the Department has on file, or 

is provided in the course of a passport application executed on behalf 

of a minor, a copy of a court order from a court of competent 

jurisdiction in the United States or abroad which:

    (A) Grants sole custody to the objecting parent; or,

    (B) Establishes joint legal cutody; or,

    (C) Prohibits the child's travel without the permission of both 

parents or the court; or,

    (D) Requires the permission of both parents or the court for 

important decisions, unless permission is granted in writing as provided 

therein.

    (ii) For passport issuance purposes, a court order providing for 

joint legal custody will be interpreted as requiring the permission of 

both parents. The Department will consider a court of competent 

jurisdiction to be a U.S. state court or a foreign court located in the 

child's home state or place of habitual residence. Notwithstanding the 

existence of any such court order, a passport may be issued when 

compelling humanitarian or emergency reasons relating to the welfare of 

the child exist.

    (2) Either parent may obtain information regarding the application 

for and issuance of a passport to a minor unless the inquiring parent's 

parental rights have been terminated by a court order which has been 

registered with the appropriate office at the Department of State; 

provided, however, that the Department may deny such information to any 

parent if it determines that the minor is of sufficient maturity to 

assert a privacy interest in his/her own right, in which case the 

minor's written consent to disclosure shall be required.

    (3) The Department may require that conflicts regarding custody 

orders, whether domestic or foreign, be settled by the appropriate court 

before a passport may be issued.



(22 U.S.C. 2658 and 3926)



[31 FR 13540, Oct. 20, 1966, as amended at 61 FR 6505, Feb. 21, 1996; 66 

FR 29906, June 4, 2001; 69 FR 15671, Mar. 26, 2004; 69 FR 60813, Oct. 

13, 2004]



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