Important Notice
At the present time A1 Passport is unable to perform “ 24 Hour Emergency passport services” until further notice from the Washington Passport Agency. For 5-7 days service you must call our office and reserve an appointment for your child’s passport processing.
Click on each step to view the process of getting a U.S. children’s passport. To optimize time, it is best to call our office after you have completed Step 1 of the instructions, so that we can best assist you. Feel free to contact us here with questions.
Step 1: Collect Documents
Provide proof of identity for the parent or guardian (One Below)
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- Valid state photo ID or drivers license of parents. (copy of front and back)
- Valid government issued photo ID of parents.
Provide proof of U.S. citizenship (one below)
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- Certified copy of the child applicant’s birth certificate with the state’s seal. Both parents must be on the certificate. Attention: all parents listed on the birth certificate must be present at the post office, if one parent cannot be present, you’ll need a copy of the front and the back of the drivers license attached to a notarized parental consent form DS-3053.
- Certificate of Citizenship or Naturalization.
- Attention: If the child applicant has had a U.S. passport and/or passport card before, you must submit both the birth certificate And the expired passport as well as the passport card, if any.
- Important tip – When asked how you would like to be contacted, please choose “EMAIL” to save time; the government will send you an email in case of any issues with your documents.
Complete and print the passport application (DS-11)
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- Fill out this form online and choose “Print form” to view the completed application to be printed. Ignore the fees at this time. Please print 2 copies, but do not sign them yet.
One Passport Photograph
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- passport photo 2 Inches by 2 Inches on a white background
3 signed copies of the Letter of Authorization. Please print 3 and put an original signature on all 3 letters.
Important
The name of at least one or parents should be written down next to your child’s names and identified as mother or father and on the signature line, at least one or both parents would need to sign and write mother or father next to their signature.
In case that you have not yet received your child’s social security number, you must submit an statement stating that you have not yet received the SS #, this statement must be signed by both parents and submitted with the rest of documents.
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- This allows our company to act on the applicant’s behalf.
- (Attention: Write “A1 Passport and Visa Express” in the “Courier Company Name” field and check the first two boxes. Do NOT check all three boxes, checking all three boxes voids the letter. If you need help, please watch our YouTube video here.)
Download and print the order form for A1 Passport
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- Please indicate your travel date on this form so we know what service you are requesting. Page 2 contains the credit card authorization to charge you for our services.
Social Security Number of the child applicant.
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- If you do not provide the SS number the IRS may impose a $500 penalty fee. If the child has just been born, write 000-00-0000 and complete Social Security Statement. This statement should be dated and singed by both parents prior to witnessing your signatures at the local passport acceptance facility and included with the rest of your child’s passport documents.
Copy of Travel Itinerary/Reservations
- A confirmed itinerary, OR a copy of your airline ticket.
Sealed envelope Expiration and time limit
The sealed envelope containing your child’s passport must be submitted to the government within 5 business days, you must call our office so that we can advise you when to witness your signature and send your package to our office so that it can be submitted and processed within the 5 day limit. In the event that your package has been witness longer than 5 days prior to submission, you’ll be asked by the passport agency to go back and re-execute your application which could be very frustrating for all parties.
Step 2: Fees
U.S. Department of State Child Passport : Government Fee
| Age | Price |
|---|---|
| Under 16 | $214.53 160 + 35+ 19.53 Passport fee+ passport acceptance fee + shipping fee total= 214.53 |
Postmaster / County Clerk : Witnessing Fee
| Price |
|---|
| $35- As indicated above, this is a portion of the passport fee that is paid at the passport acceptance facility for witnessing your signatures. |
A1 Passport : Passport Service Fees
| Service Type | Price | Processing Time |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency 1 day** | Please call for availability | 24 hours service |
| Rush Processing | $399 | 5-7 business day |
| Expedited Processing | $249 | 4-6 Weeks processing |
**By appointment only
*Must call first
Note: All processing times are measured in business days and begin from the day of submission to the passport agency, Not the day we receive your documents. All slots are subject to availability. For prompt processing, please call our office before sending your documents.
Notice: All credit card payments are subject to 3% processing fee.
Return Shipping Fees
| Speed | Price | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Priority Overnight | $35 | 1-3 Passports |
| Priority Overnight | $55 | 4+ Passports |
| Saturday Delivery | $75+ depending on destination zip | 1-3 Passports |
Fee summary: You will be making 3 payments to 1. a federally authorized witnessing facility, 2. the state department, and 3. our company. The passport fee must be paid by 2 checks or money orders. The fee for our service covers the hand carrying and submitting your passport documents to the passport agency, and retrieving your passport upon completion.
- Check or money order for $35 made payable to “Postmaster” OR “Clerk of the county court.”
- Check or money order for $208.32 payable to “U.S. Department of State.”(This fee also includes $19.53 USPS priority shipping fee for sending your passport back directly by the passport agency) Please note that the passport agency will send your passport back via regular mail unless you have paid the return fee of $18.32 via USPS priority overnight.
- Calculate: Passport Fee + A1 Service Fee + Shipping = Total Due
Step 3: Passport Acceptance Facility
In order to apply for an expedited U.S. passport you must first have your signature witnessed by an acceptable authority. Normally this is done by certain post offices and county clerks, you would normally need to make an appointment first by typing USPS.com. To find the location of the closest post office near you, click on the following link: Passport Acceptance Facility
IMPORTANT: You can apply at any post office that has an appointment available.
Both parents must be present along with your child during this process.
Before going be sure to have the following documents on this Checklist:
- Application form (DS-11) fully completed but left unsigned
- Proof of citizenship (birth certificate as well as expired/expiring passport and passport card if any)
- Proof of identity OR parental consent form if one parent cannot go to the post office. (This form must be completed and notarized and should include a copy of the front & back of the parents’ driver’s license attached for it to be accepted by the government)
- One recent passport photo
- 2 signed and dated Letters of Authorization with the first two boxes checked and “A1 Passport & Visa Express” written in the “courier company name” field.
- Copy of Travel Itinerary/Reservations
- Payment in check or money order for the passport and payment for the post office. (Do not bring the A1 service fee to the post office.)
IMPORTANT: Make copies of your your documents including the application for our office.
Bring all above original materials to a Passport Acceptance Facility and notify the agent you are using an expediting service to “hand carry” your application.
The acceptance agent will take about ten minutes to go through the following steps:
- To verify your child’s identity, the agent will request your proof of parentage. Both parents must be present with child, (or one parent with the notarized form DS-3053 including his/her ID with child present).
- The agent will ask BOTH parents (or absentee form DS-3053 and ONE parent) to sign the DS-11, and then will witness your signature and seal ALL documents in an envelope for hand-carrying.
- To verify that you need an expedited passport, you must provide evidence of your departure date.
- The agent will then seal the DS-11, photos, proof of citizenship, Letter of Authorization for A1 Passport, proof of departure date, and your passport payment in an envelope marked “To be opened by U.S. Passport Office Only.”
Important: Do not open this sealed envelope or the application will be invalidated.
Please write the following on the outside of the sealed envelope:
- Applicant’s Name
- Date of Birth
- Departure Date
IMPORTANT: DO NOT SEAL THE A1 ORDER FORM or payment for OUR services (A1 Passport & Visa Express) inside the sealed envelope, they should be paper clipped outside of your sealed envelope along with the rest of the copies made earlier.
Step 4: Shipping
Put the following documents into a FedEx Envelope
- Sealed government envelope
- One (two-page) order form for A1 Passport
- Payment to A1 Passport & Visa Express
- Two completed and signed Letters of Authorization with original signatures, a copy of the application, copy of travel reservations, font and back copies of both parents’ IDs.
We recommend that you use FedEx as a safe means of overnight shipping. Please mark your FedEx label “No Signature Required” so that they can slide under the door if the delivery time is before our office is open. Your passport, once completed, will be sent directly to you via regular mail or via USPS priority overnight if you have paid for that service.
Ship To:
A1 Passport & Visa Express
1012 14th St NW, #630
Washington, DC. 20005
(202) 639 1500
Click here to find FedEx locations