Can one parent apply for a child's passport without the consent of the other parent?

by Anita
(IL)

Question: I do not have a court order of full custody of our son but my son is 8 years old and has lived in Illinois with me solely for past 7.5 years. His father lives in California but travels to Philippines frequently for long periods of time. We have not seen his father since October 2005 and last contact was a phone call in February 2009.

My sons passport expires in 2011 and we are planning a cruise to Bahamas for spring 2011. I have mailed the statement of consent form to his father 2x in past 6 months. I have attempted to contact him by phone 2x and sent email I had on file for him also and no responses or replies.

I plan to go to the Post office to see if I can get the passport renewed without his signature on the form but I am wanting to know if the circumstances I list above will be acceptable to do so.

Answer: If the father's name in on the birth certificate and you do not have sole legal custody of your son, then you cannot apply for a passport for him without the notarized consent of the father.

Passport agents must follow the regulations and cannot make decisions based on what you tell them. There must be legal documentation.

If you want to obtain a passport for your son, the only alternative is to request a court order from a judge that would give you permission to obtain a passport for your son and travel with him on the cruise.

Please consult your lawyer concerning how to obtain such a court order.

Note, passports are NOT required to travel on a closed-loop cruise. A closed-loop cruise is one that begins and ends in the same U.S. city. For more information, click the link below.

Passports for Closed Loop Cruise