The passport acceptance agent is a required step for a new passport, a child passport, or to replace a lost, stolen, or damaged passport. There are over 8000+ passport acceptance facilities across the country. The acceptance agent is usually found at your local post office or county clerk. The agent will adjudicate your documents for your passport application. The adjudication process includes verifying the applicant’s identity, documents, and signature. The passport acceptance agent is required for new passports, child passports, and replacing a lost, stolen, or damaged passport.

If you are applying for an adult passport renewal, passport name change, or second duplicate passport, you will not need to visit a passport acceptance facility so you can skip this step and get your passport expedited with ease.

How It Works

The passport acceptance agent will verify your documents, identity, and signature. They will then take all of your documents and photos and put them into a specially sealed ‘adjudicated envelope’. This envelope cannot be opened or tampered. From here, depending on how fast you want your passport, the processing steps begin. If you’d like to find your local acceptance agent, you can search by locations near you or visit the U.S. Department of State website here.

Passport Processing Times

Routine processing for a passport is 6-8 weeks. If you submit your passport directly through the passport acceptance facility or USPS, expect it to take the full amount of time. If you need your passport faster than 6-8 weeks, you will need to expedite it.

Expediting a passport requires that the applicant complete the same process as applying for routine service. The expedited process is more or less the same, except that instead of sending your sealed adjudicated envelope through the post office AFTER you visit the passport acceptance agent, you send the sealed envelope to us. We can get the passport processed and delivered in two weeks or less, even as fast as 24 hours. Because we are registered as a private passport expeditor with the U.S. Department of State, we are able to hand-carry your documents for immediate processing. Simply put, this means we can help you get your passport fast!

Child & Minor Passport Requirements

If applicant is 16, both parents must be present at the acceptance agent to give consent. If both parents are not available, the absentee parent must fill out a consent form DS-3053 which allows the one parent to apply for the passport. This form must be notarized and the notary cannot hand write the expiration date. It must be part of their stamp. You must sign and notarize on the same date. If dates are not consistent, your application will be rejected. Please contact our office if you have any questions. If you cannot locate the non-applying parent of cannot get their consent, you will need to complete the Form DS-5525 Statement of Exigent/Special Family Circumstances. If the applicant is 17 years old, they will need one parent or guardian present at the acceptance agent.