Third Party Passport Service for Hand Carry Applications

American
citizens can authorize passport expeditors or any other third party to
hand carry applications to a regional agency if they are unable to go
to these locations themselves. The third party authorized by the
applicant to accomplish this task can be a family member, friend,
travel agent or a
registered expedited passport courier service.
The letter of authorization includes the
applicant's name, date of birth, place of birth and signature. It also
includes the name of the person or courier that is being authorized to
submit the application. When using a passport expediter, the company's
name, address and telephone number should be typed at the top of the
authorization letter. See the two examples below.
The authorization letter, completed Form DS-82 and supporting
documents can given directly to the third party if you are applying for
a passport renewal. If you are applying for a new passport, you first
need to have the passport application executed by an
application acceptance agent.
In this case, one authorization letter must be given to the agent to
place in the sealed envelope with Form DS-11. The sealed envelope and a
second authorization letter would then be given to the person or
courier who would take them to the regional agency.
If both parents are appearing at the acceptance facility with a
child and both parents sign the DS-11 form, each parent must submit
their own letter of authorization to be placed in the envelope and
another letter from each to be given to the third party.
It is important that you inform the agent that you plan to
expedite the passport through a third party. There are
more than 8,000 acceptance agents in the United States.
Not all agents are completely knowledgeable about all the passport
regulations. If the agent does not want to return the envelope to you,
ask him or her to refer to the Hand Carry Procedures section of the
Passport Agent's Reference Guide.
Be aware that some agents may try to convince you that having a
third party submit the application at a regional agency is not
necessary, especially if you plan to use an expediter. Understand that
expedited service by mail takes approximately 3 weeks IF you use
two-way express mail and there are no delays in the process. Get the
facts about
passport expedite couriers before you make a decision.
Please read the information below carefully before completing the Letter of Authorization.
IMPORTANT: An individual's personal information cannot be
released by the U.S. government to another party without the written
consent of the individual under the provisions of the Privacy Act of
1974 (5USC552a). As a result, an employee at a U.S. passport agency
cannot discuss the details of your passport application with a third
party without your written consent.
Letter of Authorization for Individual
Click to download the Letter of Authorization for Third Party
Letter of Authorization for Passport Courier
The authorization below if from
Fastport Passport,
a top-rated courier service. As you can see, the letter of
authorization must be specific to the passport expediter and include
company information in the header as well as list the courier by name
in the body of the letter.
A copy of Fastport's authorization form will be provided after you complete the
online application for expedited courier service.
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