[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 22, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 22CFR51.27]

[Page 246-248]
 
                       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 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

[[Page 247]]

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 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

[[Page 248]]

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]