How to Get a Passport Record

Whether for personal interest or genealogical research, a passport record can be easily obtained. If you want to obtain copies of your passport records, you have two options available depending on the date of the record you seek.

Passport Record Issued From 1925 to the Present

Request your record

Passport Services keeps U.S. passport records for all passports issued from the year 1925 to the present. Usually these records consist of a person's application for a U.S. passport as well as supporting evidence to show that the applicant is a U.S. citizen and is protected by law by the Privacy Act of 1974. The passport record will not contain evidence of travel such as visas, entrance or exit stamps, residence permits, etc. All of this information is put into the passport book after its issuance.

According to the Privacy Act, you are allowed to obtain copies of records in your name plus the records of any of your minor children. In order to request these records, you must submit a clearly printed or typed NOTARIZED request that provides the following information:

Your full name at birth as well as an other name changes and/or the full names of your minor children in the event that you are requesting their records;
Your place and date of birth and the dates of birth of your minor children
Current mailing address;
Daytime telephone number or cell phone number;
Current e-mail address, if you have one;
Reason for request;
Dates or the estimated dates that your passports were issued;
Passport numbers or any other pertinent information that will help in locating your records;
Copy of your photo ID

The search for your passport record will be free provided you have a notarized request. However, you will have to pay a $60.00 search fee for every person, other than yourself and any of your minor children;

Certified Passport Records

You may request copies of certified passport records. That fee will be $30.00 for the first certified copy and $20.00 for every copy after that. You can make out a money order or a check payable to the "Department of State".

Third-Party Requests

These requests must include one of the following:

Proof of guardianship