Passports

A passport is a license to travel outside of the United States into or through other countries. It is our government's assurance to other governments that the bearer is a citizen or a national of the United States and may be extended the usual courtesies and assistance afforded international travelers in accordance with international law and practices as well as reciprocal privileges usually embodied in formal agreements. Passports are issued by the Secretary of State.

• Anyone who has family living abroad including parents and spouses of U.S. military personnel
• Business or technical support personnel whose jobs require foreign travel
• Students and faculty members who are in an academic program that requires foreign study
• Athletes who participate in athletic programs with a likelihood of overseas competition
• Anyone planning vacation or holiday travel within one year
• Travel industry personnel
• Entertainers and other artists

If one of the above pertains to you, it would be to your advantage to apply for a passport, regardless of whether or not you have immediate travel plans.

To apply for a passport, you will need to provide:

Adults

• Completed DS-11 Form
  • Must be legible and fully completed in black ink to avoid delays
  • Do not sign the Form. This must be done after we have administered the prescribed oath during while submitting your application.
• Proof of United States citizenship
  • An original or certified copy of your birth certificate
  • A prior adult U.S. passport book or card (10 year validity)
  • A consular report of birth abroad of a U.S. Citizen
  • A naturalization certificate
• Proof of your identity
  • Texas driver's license or identification card
  • Military I.D. card
  • Out-of-state driver's license or identification card (If your I.D. is out-of-state, you must also bring a secondary form of I.D. such as a social security card, bank card, concealed handgun license, etc.)
• Does my I.D. Have to be in my Current Name?
  • Your I.D. Does not have to be in your current name if your name change occurred within one year of the date you submitted your passport application.
  • Your I.D. can be either in your current or previous name, as long as you submit a court order documenting your name change to the current.
  • If your name change occurred more than one year prior to your application, you must obtain an I.D. in your new name before a passport may be issued.
• Acceptable Documentation
  If the name you are currently using is different from the name on your most recent U.S. passport, you must provide a certified copy of the legal name change document such as:
  
  • Marriage Certificate
  • Divorce Decree
  • Court-Ordered name change document
  For more questions, please see the State Department's Passport FAQ.
• Recent color passport photograph (within six months from applying for passport)
• Fees (please see HOW MUCH DOES A PASSPORT COST? section below)

Children

For minors under age 16, both parents or the child's legal guardian(s) must appear and you will need to provide:

• Completed DS-11 Form
  • Must be legible and fully completed in black ink to avoid delays)
  • Do not sign the Form. This must be done after we have administered the prescribed oath while submitting your application.
• Proof of the minor's U.S. citizenship
  • An original or a certified copy of your birth certificate
  • A consular report of birth abroad of a U.S. citizen
  • A naturalization certificate
• Proof of the minor's relationship to parents/guardian(s)
  • An original or a certified copy of minor’s birth certificate
  • A consular report of birth abroad of a U.S. citizen
• Parental/guardian identification
  • Texas driver's license or identification card
  • Military I.D. card
  • Out-of-state driver’s license or identification card (If your I.D. is out-of-state, you must also bring a secondary form of I.D. such as a social security card, bank card, concealed handgun license, etc.)
• Recent color photograph (within six months from applying for passport)
• Fees (please see HOW MUCH DOES A PASSPORT COST? section below)

If only one parent appears, you must also submit one of the following:

• Second parent's notarized form DS-3053 (statement of consent or special circumstances). It cannot be more than 3 months old and must come with a notarized photocopy of the front and back side of the second parent’s identification, OR
• Second parent's death certificate if second parent is deceased, OR
• Primary evidence of sole authority to apply
  • A certified copy of the final divorce decree or order for parent-child relationship stating you have sole managing conservatorship or you have the sole authority to apply for the minor’s passport without the other parent present, OR
• Notarized form DS-3053 explaining in detail the second parent's unavailability.

Each minor child applying for a passport book and/or passport card must appear in person.

Photo
You will need to provide a passport-sized photograph. If you are unable to bring photographs with you, the District Clerk's Office will take the photos for you at a fee of $12.00. Photographs should be 2 x 2 inches in size. The image size measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head (including hair) should be not less than 1 inch or more than 1-3/8 inches.

Pose
Photographs should be portrait-type prints within 6-months of applying for your U.S. Passport. They must be clear, front view, full face, with a plain, light (white or off-white) background. Photographs which depict the applicant as relaxed and smiling are encouraged.

Attire
Photographs should be taken in street or travel attire without hat or other headgear which obscures the hair or hairline, unless the headgear is part of religious attire which is worn daily. Uniforms of any type should not be in passport photographs with the exception of religious attire worn daily. If a hearing device, wig, or similar articles are normally and consistently worn, they should be worn when the photograph is taken.

Passport Application Fees payable to the U.S. Department of State
The passport fee must be paid via money order/cashier’s check or personal check because it is sent with the application to National Passports for processing/issuance and must be made payable to the U.S. Department of State. Each application submitted must be accompanied by its individual passport fees (one payment per application submitted). For passports, an applicant is considered an adult at 16 years old, while 15 years and under are considered minors. Please keep in mind, service begins the day National Passports receives the application for processing. If you would like to use expedited service, an additional fee of $60.00 must be included in the money order/cashier's check or personal check. An optional 1-2 day delivery fee of $21.36 can be added to expedite service to shave off the mailing time once the passport book has been issued. The overnight delivery fee is not available for passport cards.

Execution Fee and Photo Fees payable to Harris County District Clerk:
A $35.00 execution fee is charged to accept each application. If you would like for us to take your passport photograph a $12.00 photo fee will apply. The Exeution and Photo fees must be paid in cash (not accepted at Passport Saturday Fairs), money order, cashier’s check or by credit card. Sorry, no personal checks. Execution fee and photo fee may be combined in your payment per applicant.

Please refer to the table below for a summary of fees for Adult and Minor Passports:

The passport book can be used for any mode of international travel: air, land, and all sea travel. The passport card can only be used for land and sea travel to Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

Find this information on the U.S. Department of State website: www.travel.state.gov. As for the visit, upon arrival the actual application process normally takes 10-15 minutes per applicant. Any travel booked before the 3-week mark, you must contact the National Passport Information Center (NPIC) at (877) 487-2778 (TDD: 1-888-874-7793) to make an appointment with the nearest regional passport facility. In this case, it will be the Houston Passport Facility located at 1919 Smith St.

After applications have been processed by our office, status of receiving your passport must be obtained by the U.S. Department of State:

• Online: Check the status of your application online by clicking here or visiting www.travel.state.gov.
• Telephone: 1-877-487-2778 TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793
  • Automated Passport Information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week.
  • Speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., EST, excluding federal holidays.
• E-mail: NPIC@state.gov
  • Most e-mail inquiries are answered within 24 hours.

You may contact us at (832) 927-5690 and ask to speak with a passport agent. You may also email us at Passport Services. The District Clerk's Passport Application Acceptance Facility is located in Suite 170 on the 1st floor of the Civil Courthouse, 201 Caroline St. Houston, Texas 77002 (on the right hand side of the floor located next to the escalators after passing through courthouse lobby security).
To submit your passport application, Office Hours of operation are Monday – Friday, 8:30am – 3:00pm, excluding County and USPS Holidays.
Walk-Ins are welcome ONLY between the hours of 8:30 – 12PM**. (Effective Date: 06/24/2024)
*The appointment cutoff time is 2PM the business day before observed holidays.
**Due to limitations and processing demands, we may suspend walk-in time earlier, per management discretion.

Further details and information related to U.S. Passport applications and regulations may be obtained by visiting: http://www.travel.state.gov

No. Per Travel.State.Gov, U.S. Department of State - Burea of Consular Affairs:

You can renew by mail using DS-82 if your most recent passport meets all five of these requirements:

If any of the above statements do not apply to you, you must apply in person using form DS-11.