Has anyone here recently gotten a passport for their child? If so did it take long? We are looking at a vacation abroad but don’t know if we will be able to secure passports for our kids in time for the trip which should be around April to May.

I did this for my sons high school trip to Spain next month. We submitted the application in December and received the passport in early January. You can pay for expedited service if you need it faster than 4-6 weeks.

The key is to have all your paperwork in hand. Unlike most things were parents can divide and conquer, they do require both parents to be present when you go to the PO or passport office to apply.

If you have any specific questions I would be glad to attempt to answer them.

Tommy

Check here

https://travel.state.gov/conte...ssport/under-16.html

You can expedite it, 2-3 weeks. I went to the fed building and did a rush, I think it took about a week at the most, not cheap though

The normal time is 4-6 weeks. They usually get them back quicker than that. It’s possible to get expedited service. Same day issuance is possible but you have to go in person to one of the offices that does that. There’s a list and instructions on their web site. I got one in Atlanta last year but it takes ALL day.

It took us 3 - 4 weeks the first time (age 1 & 2), and a little less when we-renewed this year. As others have said, both parents need to go to the USPS and fill out the forms.

We applied for passports for our two children end of January. Got them last Friday, so about 30 calendar days for turnaround.

My daughter has had her passport since she was three months old. Get your applications in now and you shouldn't even have to expedite them to get the passports back in time.

One thing I would recommend, which likely doesn't apply in your case, is have the post office take the passport photo for you if your child is an infant. That guarantees the photo won't get rejected which I've been told happens a lot when people try and do it themselves. For most though, photos from Walmart or whatnot work fine.

As the other members have said, start immediately & gather all your paperwork & double check everything. I'm not sure about NC, but here in OR, I ended up getting an appointment at the County Clerk to submit my application within a week instead of the Post Office - they were almost 3 weeks out.

I did expedited last June & it took 2 weeks from the time I submitted my app..for your time frame, I'd do expedited to make sure you get the passports on time.

Just did it, took less than 2 weeks door to door

Spend the extra $ to get the passport cards while you are at it.. You can carry those when out and about and not worry about it getting damaged and more importantly you can still get home without it.

quote:

Originally posted by sig 226:
Spend the extra $ to get the passport cards while you are at it.. You can carry those when out and about and not worry about it getting damaged and more importantly you can still get home without it.

Keep in mind that the Passport card has it's limitations:
Not valid for International air travel (it can be used as "Real ID" for domestic air travel)
Only valid at land and seaport entry from certain countries(Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, most Caribbean countries).

Not accepted by:
Cuba
Haiti
Barbados
French West Indies
Trinidad & Tobago

https://travel.state.gov/conte...w-passport/card.html

quote:

Originally posted by Sgt Neutron:

quote:

Originally posted by sig 226:
Spend the extra $ to get the passport cards while you are at it.. You can carry those when out and about and not worry about it getting damaged and more importantly you can still get home without it.

Keep in mind that the Passport card has it's limitations:
Not valid for International air travel (it can be used as "Real ID" for domestic air travel)
Only valid at land and seaport entry from certain countries(Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, most Caribbean countries).

Not accepted by:
Cuba
Haiti
Barbados
French West Indies
Trinidad & Tobago

https://travel.state.gov/conte...w-passport/card.html

The only reason I got the passport card when I recently renewed my passport was to have a form of ID that doesn't have my home address on it. (Thanks, V-Tail, for the idea). There's no reason why some people should be able to see where I live.

My brother took the expedited route and had his in 1 week.

Did this last year for my 8 year old...had it in under 1 month.

We got our kids new passports about 2 months ago. It took less than 3 weeks.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Has anyone here recently gotten a passport for their child? If so did it take long? We are looking at a vacation abroad but don’t know if we will be able to secure passports for our kids in time for the trip which should be around April to May.

We just renewed our two kids’ passports a week or two ago for a trip next month. Read the instructions, fill everything out carefully, bring original/certified copies as instructed and copies of all the things they ask you to. Take the kids and both parents. (Can get around both parents with a notarized letter, but it is cleaner if you both go.) They required us to make two fifteen minute appointments to deal with the two renewals. Mrs. Slosig had done her homework and we were done submitting both renewals and out the door in seven minutes. She was just peeved because she knew we needed to do this at Christmas and forgot until recently so we had to pay for expedited service. Do it ASAP and maybe you can save the expedite bucks.

Agreed, just a suggestion you can carry the Card if out and about and leave the Book in the Safe.

quote:

Originally posted by Sgt Neutron:

quote:

Originally posted by sig 226:
Spend the extra $ to get the passport cards while you are at it.. You can carry those when out and about and not worry about it getting damaged and more importantly you can still get home without it.

Keep in mind that the Passport card has it's limitations:
Not valid for International air travel (it can be used as "Real ID" for domestic air travel)
Only valid at land and seaport entry from certain countries(Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, most Caribbean countries).

Not accepted by:
Cuba
Haiti
Barbados
French West Indies
Trinidad & Tobago

https://travel.state.gov/conte...w-passport/card.html

I got a passport card for the extra few bucks when I renewed my passport. I give it to people when they demand an id for a check or credit card or other non governmental interaction. Throws them for a loop. Also since CA Drivers license won’t be good for Real ID soon.

Either both parents must be present during application drop-off, or some notarized form is needed.