Did you know that the government keeps a copy of each application you submit for passport service, including copies of the evidence you submitted to prove your citizenship?

If you’d like a copy of these records for any reason, here’s how to get them:

If your passport was issued after 1925, the records are stored with US Passport Services.  To get them, you’ll need to submit a notarized request in writing. Your request must include the following information:

  • Your full name and any names you used previously (birth name, married name, etc). If you are requesting a child’s record, include their name, too.
  • When and where you (or your child) were born
  • Your address
  • Your current phone number
  • Your e-mail address, if you have one
  • The reason you need the records
  • The approximate date the passport was issued
  • Passport numbers and any other information that you think will help Passport Services find the records for you.
  • A copy of your photo ID.

It’s free to get a copy of your own records or those of your children, but if you’re requesting records for anyone else it’s $60.00.  Certified copies are $30.00 for the first copy and $20.00 for each additional copy. If you’re requesting passport records for anyone other than yourself or your child, you’ll need send their notarized consent, proof of guardianship, their death certificate or a court order allowing you to have access to the records.

Once you have assembled all the paperwork, mail it with any applicable fees to:

Department of State
Passport Services
Research and Liaison Section
Room 500
1111 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20524-1705 (202) 955-0447

What if you want copies of records for people born before 1925, perhaps for a geneaology project? In that case, you’ll need to contact the National Archives at the following address:

National Archives and Records Administration
Archives 1
Reference Branch
8th & Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC

Remember, if you’re applying for a new passport, the fastest and easiest way to get passport services is to use a private expediting company. An expediting company can help you fill out the paperwork and will get your passport to you quickly, with processing times as low as 24 hours!

Order expedited  passport services today, and see how fast and easy it can be to get a passport!