Travel documents for children

The U.S. passport for a child under 16

U.S. citizen children travelling to most other countries are required to have a U.S. passport. Any child under 16 who needs one applies for it together with their parents or guardians. The main rule is that both parents or guardians must be present with the child, applying in person. If one or both of them cannot be present, they need to show more documents. When one parent cannot go but both have custody, that parent signs Form DS-3053, the Statement of Consent, in front of a notary and adds a photocopy of the photo ID shown to the notary; the form has to be submitted within 90 days of being notarized. A parent with sole custody shows one document instead, such as a court order granting sole custody or a certified copy of the birth certificate listing only that parent.

The application is made on Form DS-11: fill it in with the State Department's form filler, print it on single-sided paper, and do not sign it until the passport acceptance agent asks you to. Bring the child; paper evidence of the child's U.S. citizenship, such as the U.S. birth certificate (digital or electronic versions are not accepted), with a photocopy; one photo of the child; and a physical photo ID for each parent or guardian who goes, with a photocopy of its front and back.

You also have to show that you are the child's parent or guardian. A U.S. birth certificate does this; without one, bring a document that shows who the child's parents or guardians are, such as a foreign birth certificate, an adoption decree, or a divorce or custody decree. If your name is different from the one on that document, bring proof of the legal name change, such as a marriage certificate. And if your photo ID is from a different state than the one you are applying in, bring a second photo ID.

Two more things are worth knowing. A child's passport cannot be renewed: you have to apply in person each time. And a passport for a child under 16 is valid for 5 years, so plan a new application before it expires.

When the child applies in the United States and a parent or guardian is in another country, that parent's Form DS-3053, the Statement of Consent, is still required. In some countries it cannot be notarized by a local notary, so it has to be notarized at the nearest United States embassy or consulate. And if you are applying outside the United States, ask the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for instructions.

The consent letter when a child travels with one parent

Ports of entry in many countries have security measures to prevent international child abduction, so if your child is travelling alone or with only one parent or legal guardian, they may need a letter of consent. When a U.S. citizen child travels abroad with only one parent, that parent should also be ready to show proof of parentage or legal custody.

What the U.S. government advises for the letter:

• It is preferred that the letter is in English and notarized.
• If the child is travelling with one custodial parent, the letter should come from the other parent.
• If the child is travelling with a guardian or alone, both parents should sign the letter.
• The letter should say: "I acknowledge that my child is traveling outside the country with [the name of the adult] with my permission."
• If a child who is not a U.S. citizen travels to the United States with a parent who has sole custody, that parent should carry a copy of the custody document.

And the step that settles it: contact the embassy or consulate of the country your child will be visiting and ask about letters of consent and the other entry and exit requirements for that country, because the rules are not the same everywhere. If the child flies alone, also contact the airline before the trip: it may ask for its own unaccompanied minor or travel consent form.

Mexican minors leaving Mexico alone or with another adult

The SAM format (Formato de Salida de Menores) of Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM) is the document that lets a minor, Mexican or with a temporary, temporary student or permanent residence permit, travel abroad alone or with a third adult. If a parent lives outside Mexico, ask the Mexican consulate near you: the consulate in Montreal, for example, asks a parent who lives in Canada to give the authorization before a Canadian notary and then have the document apostilled.

It is an alternative to a notarial power of attorney and to a document issued by the judicial authority, and it can be started through the INM's page at any hour of any day. If you use a notarial or judicial authorization instead, it is also presented to the migration authority in the original and 3 copies, with the required documents.

The procedure is to fill the form in online, giving an email address; the INM then emails you a registration receipt with the way to pay. The SAM has a fee for issuing and validating it: the INM publishes the amount on its page, and the fee can only be paid online, with a Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card. Check every detail before you finish, because the form can be corrected only once; if it still has errors, you need a new registration and a new payment. Then print the form and take it to the INM office nearest your home, or to an INM office at an international air, land or sea crossing, together with:

• The original and 3 copies of the minor's passport.
• The original and 3 copies of the minor's birth certificate, or of the document that proves guardianship.
• The original and 3 copies of the current official ID (passport or INE voter ID card) of the person exercising parental authority or guardianship who authorizes the trip.
• The original and 3 copies of the passport of the adult travelling with the minor, when the minor travels with a third adult.
• A copy of the payment receipt.

Who has to go: if the minor travels alone, one or both parents, or the person with parental authority or guardianship, can do the procedure, and not everyone named on the form has to be there, not even the minor; what is required is the complete set of original documents and the completed form. If the minor travels with a third adult, one or both parents can do it, or the third adult can, if they bring an authorization from one of the parents, given before a notary, to do the procedure.

At the office, the Federal Migration Agent reviews the documents and, if there are no irregularities, stamps the forms to give them official validity. Only INM agents are authorized to stamp them, and without that stamp the minor cannot leave Mexican territory even if they have their ticket. The INM suggests going in advance to have the form validated and stamped.

The format is not needed when the minor travels with both parents, with one of them, with their legal guardian, or when they are being repatriated to Mexico. It has a validity of six months from the moment it is issued and can only be used once during that period, and one SAM is processed for each minor and each trip.

Sources

• Apply for a Child's Passport Under 16, of U.S. Passports at the U.S. Department of State: any child under 16, along with their parents or guardians, must follow these steps to get a passport, and both parents or guardians must be present with the child applying in person; if one or both cannot be present, they need to show more documents. A child's passport cannot be renewed and must be applied for in person each time, and passports for children under 16 are valid for 5 years. The application is Form DS-11: complete it with the form filler, print it on single-sided paper and do not sign it until a passport acceptance agent asks. Bring the child, physical (not digital or electronic) evidence of the child's U.S. citizenship, such as a U.S. birth certificate, with a photocopy, 1 photo, and a physical photo ID for each parent or guardian with a photocopy of its front and back; a parent whose ID is from a different state than the one they apply in brings a second photo ID. The legal relationship between the child and each parent or guardian is verified: without a U.S. birth certificate to prove it, submit a document that shows who the child's parents or legal guardians are, such as a foreign birth certificate, an adoption decree, a divorce or custody decree or a court order, and a parent whose name is different from the one on that document submits proof of the legal name change, such as a marriage certificate. When one parent cannot go but both have custody, that parent signs Statement of Consent: Form DS-3053 before a notary and provides a photocopy of the photo ID shown to the notary; DS-3053 and other notarized statements must be submitted within 90 days after they are signed or notarized. A parent with sole custody provides one document, such as a court order granting sole custody or a certified copy of the birth certificate listing that parent as the only parent. When children apply in the United States with one or both parents abroad, a DS-3053 is still required, and in some countries it cannot be notarized by a local notary, so it has to be notarized at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. To submit the application abroad, contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate in the destination for instructions. — travel.state.gov (checked 21 October 2026)
• International travel documents for children, of USAGov: children traveling to most other countries are required to have a U.S. passport. Ports of entry in many countries have security measures to prevent international child abduction, so a child traveling alone or with only one parent or legal guardian may need a letter of consent. It is preferred that the letter is in English and notarized; it should be from the other parent when the child travels with one custodial parent, and both parents should sign it when the child travels with a guardian or alone. The letter should say: "I acknowledge that my child is traveling outside the country with [the name of the adult] with my permission." Contact the embassy or consulate of the country the child will be visiting and ask about letters of consent and other entry and exit requirements. Each country has its own rules for when minors travel: contact the embassy or consulate of the country the child is a citizen of to find out what documents it requires for a child to leave their home country without both of their custodial parents or with a guardian. In the section on non-U.S. citizen children traveling to the U.S., a parent with sole custody of the child they are traveling with should carry a copy of the custody document. If a minor is traveling abroad alone, contact the airline about its requirements, permissions or additional fees; for a child traveling alone by air, the airline may require an unaccompanied minor or travel consent form. — usa.gov (checked 21 October 2026)
• Documentos y requisitos para viajes internacionales para los menores de edad, of USAGov en Español: most ports of entry in each country have security measures to prevent la sustracción internacional de menores, and the travel permission letter, preferably in English, says: "Reconozco que mi hijo/hija viaja fuera del país con [nombre del adulto] con mi permiso". For U.S. citizen children travelling abroad, a parent travelling alone with the child should be ready to present proof of paternity, maternity or legal custody of the minor (prueba de paternidad, maternidad o custodia legal) and a notarized travel permission letter signed by the other parent or both. — usa.gov (checked 21 October 2026)
• Formato de Autorización de Salida del País de Niñas, Niños, Adolescentes y Personas bajo Tutela jurídica (Formato SAM, Formato de Salida de Menores), of the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM), dated 30 July 2026: the form protects minors who travel abroad alone or with a third adult, and it is an alternative to a document issued before a notary (fedatario público) or by a judicial authority; if one of those is used instead, it is also presented to the migration authority in the original and three copies with the required documents. The form is not required when the minor travels with one or both parents or with the person holding parental authority or guardianship, or travels alone or with a third adult and presents a notarial or judicial authorization. Parents or guardians start it on the INM's page at any hour, every day of the year: the form is filled in online with an email address, the INM emails a registration receipt with the way to pay, and the fee for issuing and validating the form, whose amount the page gives, is paid only online with a Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card; the form can be corrected only once, and after that a new registration and payment are needed. The system prints the form on three sheets: one for the INM, one for the transport company and one for you. Then go with the completed form to the INM office nearest your home, or to an INM office at an international air, land or sea crossing, with the original and 3 copies of the minor's passport, of the birth certificate (or the guardianship document), of the current official ID (passport or INE) of the person exercising parental authority or guardianship who authorizes the exit, and of the passport of the third adult travelling with the minor if that applies, and a copy of the payment receipt; the Federal Migration Agent is given the information needed to check them. With no irregularities, the form is validated and stamped to give it official validity; only the INM can stamp and validate it, and without that the minor cannot leave Mexican territory. The INM suggests going in advance to validate and stamp it. If the minor travels alone, one or both parents or the person holding parental authority or guardianship can do the procedure, and not everyone named in it, including the minor, has to attend, but the complete original documents and the completed form must be presented; if the minor travels with a third adult, one or both parents or the third person can do it, with an authorization from one of the parents given before a notary (fedatario público) to do the procedure, the documents in original and copies, and the completed form. It is valid six months from issue and can be used once in that period, and one is processed for each minor and each trip. — gob.mx (checked 21 October 2026)
• Formato de Salida de Menores, of the Consulado General de México en Montreal: the INM's SAM format lets minors, Mexican or foreign with temporary, temporary student or permanent residence, travel abroad alone or with a third adult, and it is only used when one or both parents live in Mexico; a parent who lives in Canada gives the authorization before a Canadian notary and then has the document apostilled. The Federal Migration Agent reviews the documents and stamps the forms to give them official validity, only INM agents are authorized to stamp it, and without that stamp minors cannot leave Mexican territory even if they have their travel ticket. It is not necessary when the minor travels with both parents, with one of them, with their legal guardian, or when they are being repatriated to Mexico. — consulmex.sre.gob.mx (checked 21 October 2026)