Renewing passport for minor that now will be 16

[mom4fun]

I will be renewing my son's passport soon. Will the process be different for a 16 year old renewal? Will my husband have to be there with me like when he was younger?

 

[Geomom]

Here's the link to the government website: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/16-and-17.html
Your 16 yr old will have to renew the passport, in person, with at least 1 parent. The good thing is that a 16 yr old's passport is good for 10 yrs!

 

[mom4fun]

Here's the link to the government website: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/16-and-17.html
Your 16 yr old will have to renew the passport, in person, with at least 1 parent. The good thing is that a 16 yr old's passport is good for 10 yrs!

Ok. So just one parent not 2 like last time?

 

[Geomom]

Ok. So just one parent not 2 like last time?

I don't have personal experience with it, but the website says 1 parent. I would read through the document to be sure. We all got our first passports together last year, my oldest had just turned 16, my youngest was 12--so we had both parents there.

 

[rlk]

You do not need both parents for a sixteen year old. I just renewed passports for both my sons. I only needed a notarized form signed by my husband for my 14 year old.

 

[mom4fun]

Thank you, all! That makes it a lot easier.

 

[bumbershoot]

Ok. So just one parent not 2 like last time?

Well, to be super clear, you never needed both parents to be there physically. The list of options is under #7 here: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/under-16.html . As a PP just said they brought in a notarized form from the other parent, rather than having the other parent there. And if you can't do that then there's an option and so on and so on.


(Also this isn't a renewal. It'll be a renewal when the 16 year old's 10 year passport expires.)



On the page that the PP linked to a few replies ago, it states in #4 that the 16 (or 17) year old can show parental awareness, though they actually could do it on their own if they have an identification document.

If you have your own identification document (ID), you may apply for a passport by yourself. However, we strongly recommend that at least one parent accompany you to show parental awareness.

Examples of Parental Awareness:

• A parent appearing with you in person when you apply for your passport
• A signed statement consenting to issuance of a passport from at least one parent (should be accompanied by a photocopy of that parent’s ID).

If you do not have a current ID, you must show at least one parent knows that you are applying for a passport.

So if s/he has an identification document s/he doesn't even need ONE parent to do this, let alone both.

 

[utfisher72]

We just had to do this a couple of months ago. Here is our experience.

20yr DS, original passport issued when he was 15 - It was his problem, he's an adult now.
16yr DS, original passport issued when he was 11 - Only my DW was required to be present for the renewal.
13yr DD, original passport issued when she was 8 - My DW took in the application and I provided a notarized authorization form.

In all cases, they did not take our birth certificates like they did when we originally got them, but they did take the old passports. We got the old passports back about two weeks later with holes punched in them. The new passports took about 3 weeks before they arrived. The whole process was much easier then the first time and not really very painful.