How To Get A Passport

How do I get a passport?

We get this question all the time! We are so thrilled that people want to get passports and see this wonderful planet we all live on.

Getting a passport is fairly simple. You do have to fill out paperwork, assemble a couple of documents and write a couple of checks and run an errand or two, not to mention wait by the mailbox for it to arrive. Maybe it isn’t so simple. JUST KIDDING.

Alright, step one is to fill out your passport application. My recommendation is to fill out the online form that you’ll find here Now, you don’t submit this online, that isn’t how it works. You fill out the application and then hit ‘print’ and voila, you have a neatly filled out passport application. Doesn’t that beat trying to write legibly and not make any mistakes? The other magic of filling out the online application is that when you print it out it has a barcode on it. That barcode means that when you submit your application and it goes to the big warehouse somewhere where people process it, rather than trying to read your handwriting and key everything in perfectly, they just scan the barcode and the system automatically populates with the exact information you entered. Faster and more accurate. Great!

Next you’ll need to gather your birth certificate and your drivers license. That is, if you were born in the United States and you are licensed to drive. If you don’t fit this criteria, refer to the state department website which is travel.state.gov.

You’ll need to make a photocopy of the front and back of your drivers license on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper and take it with you.

Next, you’ll need to get your passport photo taken. We take them here in our office for a fee of just $5.00. Many passport offices take them also and their fees vary.

Last, take your checkbook with you. You’ll have to write several checks to various government entities, and currently the total of those fees is right around $100.00 for an adult passport. Considering that it is valid for 10 years, that’s a bargain.

For kids under 16 years old, you will have to have both parents physically present at the passport office or there is additional paperwork that must be filled out.

For complete detailed passport information, go to travel.state.gov