Whether your family is about to take an international trip or you’re wanting an official form of photo identification for your baby, the process of getting a passport can be a daunting task. But it doesn’t have to be! As long as you’re organized, plan ahead, and leave plenty of wiggle room, the process of getting a passport for your child is really quite simple. Read on to find out the steps, some tips and tricks, and a free checklist!

Passports for Children Under 16

Obtaining a passport for a child under the age of 16 is a little different than the normal process. For starters, they must apply in person. Furthermore, a child’s passport is only valid for 5 years, whereas an adult’s passport is valid for 10 years. This makes sense as children grow up quickly and their looks can change. After 5 years, you will have to complete a brand new application each time until your child is 16 years old. Fortunately, a child’s passport is also cheaper!

What you need to bring

There are many forms and paperwork that you will need to bring for an in-person passport application for your child:

• Evidence of U.S. Citizenship – this can include a fully valid, undamaged U.S. passport (it may be expired), a U.S. birth certificate, a certificate of citizenship, or a consular report of birth abroad or certification of birth. The evidence of U.S. citizenship must be an original or certified copy.
• Photocopy of U.S. Citizenship Evidence – Make a photocopy of the evidence of U.S. Citizenship that you chose from above to submit. The photocopy must be legible, on white 8.5”x11” standard paper, black and white, and single-sided. This means that if there is printed information on the back, you must photocopy that on a separate piece of paper.
• Proof of Parental Relationship – this can include a U.S. birth certificate, consular report of birth abroad, foreign birth certificate, adoption decree, or divorce/custody decree. You’ll notice that the U.S. birth certificate and the consular report of birth abroad can serve as both the evidence of U.S. citizenship as well as parental relationship.
• Present Parent’s ID – this can include a valid driver’s license, U.S. passport (valid or expired), certificate of naturalization or citizenship, etc. (please see full list at https://travel.state.gov/) 
• Photocopy of Parent’s ID – Again, this photocopy must be on white 8.5”x11” standard paper, black and white, and single-sided
• Child’s Passport Photo – this must be a color photo taken within the last 6 months with a clear image of the face and a white background. See more detail in the next section.
• Form of payment – bring your checkbook or a cashier’s check for the passport fees. See the chart below for the fees for a child applicant (as of April 2019):

Steps to complete

1. Gather all of your documents listed above. Download the free checklist, attach it to a folder, and tick each thing off as you add it to the folder.
2. Get children’s passport photo. There are many ways to get this done. You can go to a photo center, such as CVS or Walgreens, and pay a small fee. Most post offices also do the photos when you apply for the passport in person. Or you can do the photos yourself with a white sheet, but please check the (site) for the entire list of requirements. It may be worth to pay the small fee to have a professional do the photo to avoid the potential of a rejected application due to the photo if the requirements are not met. 
3. Fill out Form DS-11. This can be printed online or picked up in person at the application office. See my tips and tricks below regarding this form. Do not sign this form until instructed to do so by the acceptance agent when you apply in person!
4. Find your acceptance facility. You can easily find an application office near you by searching (link). The site will show the hours that they accept passport applications as well as if they take appointments. Most of the places are post offices or libraries. Read my tips and tricks below to (hopefully) reduce your waiting time!
5. Apply in person. The child and both parents listed on the birth certificate need to be present to apply for the child’s passport. There are some exceptions if one parent is unable to appear or if there are custody issues. Check (link) to see what to do for these exceptions. At the office, the acceptance agent will review your application, making sure that everything is filled out correctly and checks that the photo meets requirements. The agent will also check your required identification and have you verbally swear that the application and documents presented are correct. You will then sign the application when instructed by the agent and it’s time for the waiting game. 
6. After submitting the application. Once you submit your child’s passport application, you’ll wait for about 4-6 weeks to receive the passport through the mail. If you paid the expedited fee, you can expect to wait for 2-3 weeks. 

Please note that the passport office will keep your child’s evidence of U.S. citizenship with your application and will mail it back separately from the passport. 

Tips and Tricks When Applying for A Child’s Passport

1. Get a passport early. When your child is first born, there are so many things that have to be done, from birth certificates, adding them to insurance policies, staying alive, etc. Getting a passport may not even be on your list, but consider applying for a passport for your child after the “newness” settles down. Since it can take a while to get the passport, get it sooner rather than later. This way, you won’t have to worry about it if you get offered to go on an international trip last minute or you won’t be scrambling when you book a vacation only to find out you have to get a passport too!
2. Fill out Form DS-11 in advance. On the (Travel link) website, you can print out a PDF of the form and fill it out with black ink or you can use their form filler to fill in the sections for you. This is great for people with not-so-pretty handwriting (ahem, my husband). Filling out the form before you go ensures you have all the information needed on the form rather than finding out after waiting hours in line. When you go to print out the blank or filled out copy, DO NOT print form on both sides. You must print the form single-sided or you’ll have to fill it out again at the acceptance facility. As mentioned above, do not sign the form until instructed by an acceptance agent. Also, do not attach the passport photos to the form either. The agent will do that once he/she ensures that everything is correct. 
3. Make an appointment, if you can. There are some passport acceptance facilities that will allow you to make appointments. Do that! It will save you lots of waiting time, which is even better with a small child. 
4. If no appointments, get there even before the facility opens. This way, you can be there as soon as they start accepting applications and you can minimize your waiting time. 

Our Experience

Our personal experience with applying for Remy’s passport was such a positive one! We booked our first international trip as a family that was 6 weeks out before realizing that Remy didn’t have a passport! Don’t be like us and follow Tip #1. Luckily, the weekend after we booked our trip, we went to the local library as soon as they opened to apply for his passport. We were first in line and the entire process took 20 minutes. This library was nice because they had a pager system for the people after us so they were free to roam the library and the pager would buzz when it was their turn. It is very convenient and great for families with kids as they could play in the children’s section until it was time. 

The acceptance facility was also able to take Remy’s photo for a small fee. It was definitely worth the fee as we didn’t have to deal with a squirmy toddler while trying to measure the face length in the frame at home. 

Since our trip was in 6 weeks, we paid the expedited fee and got his passport exactly two weeks after turning in the application! Whew!

How was your passport experience? Any tips or tricks you can share?

You’re ready for your family vacation! You have your tickets, your itinerary, and your packing list, but then as you pack your toddler’s stuff,  you think to yourself, “How the heck am I going to survive in a small hotel room with a toddler?”. Then your thoughts start to spiral out of control and you think, “Can we even go on a vacation? What about their sleep schedule? Will we enjoy ourselves since they go to bed so early?”.

Our family just went on an overnight trip for the first time with a toddler. And these same thoughts kept popping into my head regarding the hotel stay. In fact, I almost backed out of our weekend getaway because of the fear of staying in a hotel with Remy and veering away from our “routine”.

But, I’m so happy to share the good news that our little boy (and us) did SO much better than we could have imagined! He slept through the entire night and absolutely loved exploring a new place.

So before you hit that cancel button, here are some tips and tricks on staying in a hotel with a toddler to ensure that your vacation is enjoyable as you make amazing memories as a family!

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Prepare For a Hotel Stay With a Toddler

When you’re about to embark on a trip with your little ones, preparation is half the battle! And a little planning will go a long way!

If you’re driving to your destination, consider bringing along your own Pack ‘n Play or travel crib. If you don’t have one or are flying instead, call the hotel ahead of time to reserve a hotel crib. Then be sure to pack the essentials, such as toys, favorite books, lovey, special blanket, etc.

We also felt that Remy’s sound machine was essential and we had enough room to pack it in our luggage. If you don’t have room to pack your sound machine, check out a white noise app on your phone that should do the trick!

And finally, pack some duct tape! That’s an odd request, but we’ll talk more about that in the next section.

Inspect and set up the hotel room

Once you check into your hotel room, the first thing you should do is inspect your room. As you know, toddlers LOVE to explore and this hotel room is a new environment. Your toddler will investigate every nook and cranny. So you’ll want to take a quick look around the room for things to toddler-proof.

Check the floor and under the bed for any small trinkets or items that they will inevitably put into their mouth. Look for any outlets that are within a toddler’s reach and cover them with tape. You can also tape down electrical cords that they can trip over or blind cords that they can get tangled up in. Move any toiletries and fragile decor out of reach of those tiny hands.

​Block off any sharp corners of the nightstand or TV stand with pillows, if you can.

Finally, set up stations for your toddler: a changing station, eating station, sleeping station, you get the idea!

Try to maintain a routine, but be flexible

This tip is a hard one. You want to have fun on your vacation but you also don’t want to ruin that toddler sleep schedule that took you sooo long to perfect. My advice is to be a little bit flexible, but try to stick to some sort of schedule or normal routine. We had Remy nap on the go, either in the baby carrier or the stroller, and while he had shorter naps than usual, we didn’t stress over it too much, especially since he was still in such a happy mood.

His bedtime got pushed back by about half an hour, allowing us to eat dinner out together as a family. Again, this was no problem as we slept in the next morning. We kept the same bedtime routine with a bath, PJ’s, reading a bedtime book, and cuddling before lights out.

While you’re on vacation or away from home, don’t look at the clock too closely as you’ll end up not enjoying yourself! Be flexible and enjoy this precious time with your family!

Recreate your toddler’s home sleep environment

Maintaining some aspect of your little one’s routine also goes along with recreating their home sleep environment as much as possible. Is there a dark corner of your hotel room? Can you section a separate space of your room with a sheet or towel? Do you have a sound machine that you use at home?

We recreated Remy’s home sleep environment by making it as dark as possible and used his sound machine on the exact same settings. We also used sheets that were from home so he had a familiar smell and he had his lovey and blanket that he loves to cuddle.

Remy had no problem passing out at the end of the night and slept his twelve hours without a peep. The best part – he woke up so happy the next morning to a well-rested mama and papa.

Splurge for a suite

Finally, if you can swing it, I recommend splurging for a suite or a hotel room with an adjoining room or even an AirBnB. We stayed at a Residence Inn hotel suite at our last overnight stay and I can honestly say that it makes a world of difference in how you vacation. If you’re in a single room, once your toddler is down for the night, you and your family are a little limited in what you can do. You’ll have to watch TV with the volume turned low, whisper in hushed voices, and maybe read with the lights turned down low.

However, in a suite, you can set up your toddler’s crib in their own room and once they are asleep, you can close the bedroom door and you and your family are ready to party! Well, not exactly. I wouldn’t recommend partying, but you can watch TV at a normal volume, play a board game (which is what my husband and I did), or order romantic room service for a little downtime!

Furthermore, with a suite, you may even have a small kitchen with a full fridge as an added bonus. This is perfect for traveling with little kids as you can cook meals and store snacks while you’re vacationing.

Frequently Asked Questions about Staying in a Hotel with a Toddler

Get Ready to Stay in a Hotel Room with Your Toddler!

This rounds up my top 5 tips on staying in a hotel with a toddler! With these tips, you’re bound to have an amazing trip! We definitely plan on traveling more as a family and I will update this list as gain more experience. Have you stayed in a hotel with young children? What are your top tips? I would love to hear your experiences and advice!

Check out these other blog posts about traveling with kids!

• How to Get Baby’s First Passport

• Why Dutch Wonderland is the Best First Amusement Park

Chris and I looove hiking! We actually backpacked about 40 miles of the Appalachian Trail over 4 days and 3 nights a couple of years ago. It was a great experience and we can’t wait to have Remy come along with us when he’s older.

For Remy’s first hike, we went to a state park that was about 10 minutes away from us. From a nature center, a playground, campsites, to hiking trails, the state park is an awesome way to get to know nature!

Before you go into the wild, make sure you protect everyone from bugs, especially those pesky mosquitos. For Remy, we covered his arms and tried to cover his head and neck with a hat, but he didn’t keep it on! For the adults, we used Murphy’s Naturals Lemon Eucalyptus Oil Mosquito Repellent Spray, which is plant-based and DEET-free. As a crunchy mom, you know I love that! Not to mention the refreshing scent. I tend to attract more mosquitos than my husband (cause I’m way sweeter), but we both use this stuff and it keeps those insects away for 6 hours!

Since we were not doing a major hike, we used our LÍLLÉbaby Complete All Seasons Baby Carrier for Remy. We love that it has great lumbar support and has breathable mesh so we stay cool, no matter if we’re hiking or shopping!

The Nature Center was full of great information on nature, the woods, and animals you would find in the forest! This was a perfect sensory activity for Remy as he got to feel the different coats and furs. He was a little scared at first.

Remy was amazed by the forest and was always looking up in wonderment at the trees and the leaves.

Juggernaut, our English bulldog, also came for the hike and he enjoyed his outside time. He actually got a great deal of attention as there was a kid’s birthday party near the playground!

Even though our hike was pretty short (definitely no 40 miles), we think Remy and Juggernaut enjoyed it! We hope to raise Remy where he will appreciate and respect Mother Nature.

Do you enjoy hiking or being outdoors? I recommend checking out your state’s natural resources websites or find a trail near you at https://www.alltrails.com/. Chris and I grew up in the area we live now since we were children, but we had no idea that we had such great ways to experience nature that are so close to us! I mean, in all the hustle and bustle of our lives, we can forget all of the stress and just walk in the woods, holding hands with nothing but the wind in our hair! What do you enjoy doing outdoors? I would love to hear what you and your family enjoy doing when the weather is nice outside!