Questions on a Passport Application

The questions on a U.S. passport application are designed to establish your identity as well as your eligibility for a passport. Only American citizens and non-citizen U.S. nationals (residents of the U.S. Pacific territories) are eligible for U.S. passports.

The form does not ask about political or religious affiliation and does not get into your travel history. Answer all questions truthfully; knowingly submitting false statements on a signed federal document can lead to a fine, imprisonment or both.

The first section of the passport application asks for your full name, your date of birth, sex, birthplace, Social Security number, mailing address and phone number. You may provide an e-mail address if you choose, but it's not required.

If you have ever used any names other than your current one, you must list them and provide a brief explanation. The application also asks you for the names, birth dates and birthplaces of both your mother and your father. It asks whether each was a U.S. citizen

You are asked to provide your height, hair color and eye color, plus your occupation and your employer.

If you have ever been married, you must provide the name of your current or most recent spouse, along with that person's birth date and your marriage date.

If you are widowed or divorced, provide the date of your spouse's death or of the formal dissolution of the marriage.

The form asks you to specify a person who won't be traveling with you, to be called on in the event of an emergency. It asks for a description of your travel plans--date, length of trip, countries to be visited. Finally, it asks whether you have ever been issued a passport before and, if so, what happened to it.

The application asks for your signature--but do not sign it until you are directed to do so at a U.S. passport office.

You can't submit a passport application online or through the mail; you must bring it to a passport office along with documentation to prove your identity and your citizenship.

The requirements for this documentation are spelled out on the application. If the application is for a child younger than 16, the form must be signed by the child's parents or legal guardian, who must accompany the child to the passport office.

Both parents must appear and sign the form, unless one parent can demonstrate sole legal authority to do so, or the second parent provides a notarized statement consenting to the passport being issued.