How Any Regular U.S. Citizen Can Get a Passport

My husband and I just finished the process to get our first passports for our planned trip to the Bahamas this year. In seven easy steps, you, too, can get a passport. With the laws changing at the borders to Canada, it is important that everyone applies for a passport as soon as they can because you never know when you'll need to go to Canada. Give your self enough time since it can take up to 8 weeks to get your passport, or longer if there are problems. There are so many instructions on the passport website that get so confusing! I spent hours reading all of them while I applied, but you don't have to since I summed it all up for you. Good luck in getting your first passport!

Step 1: Find your Birth Certificate and Marriage License
Before you even get started, make sure you have your birth certificate handy as you will need this to prove your US Citizenship. What if you can't find it? Well you will have to order another one before you start applying for a passport. If you have the time, go to your local County Clerk's office to request a copy. Make sure you have proper ID on you. If you don't have the time, go to the government approved website www.vitalcheck.com to order one online. It cost a little more, but it's worth it if you can't get to your government office during their open hours.

If you had a name change due to marriage (or divorce) make sure you have a certificate for that as well. If you have misplaced that, you can order that through the vitalcheck website too. Once again, it's a little more expensive then going in person, but it is way more convenient.

Step 2: Get a Photo
The number one step you should worry about is getting the photo done. Go to your local CVS, Meijer, or any other drug store and just tell them you need passport photos. They will take a picture for you and within 15 minutes or so they will have a whole set of copies printed out for you and cut down to size. This cost around $8.00 which is cheaper than the Post Office charges.

Tip #1: Make sure the person knows what they are doing. I initially went to Meijer and it was the girl's first time ever taking passport photos. My husband's photos were accepted but my photos were rejected because they were off-center and I had to have them retaken. At CVS, the girl was knowledgeable and knew all the rules inside and out.

Tip #2: Don't try taking the photo yourself, there are too many rules! Make your life easy and pay the $8.00 to have it taken by someone with experience.

Step 3: Fill out the Application
Once you have your photos, the next step is to fill out the application. You could go to your local post office and get an app, OR you could once again do things the easy way and go to the passport wizard where you can fill out the form online and then print off your responses in a neat and organized form. Once you have the print out, you are ready for the next step.

Tip #3: DON'T SIGN THE APPLICATION. You will be asked to sign the application when there is a witness there, and if you accidentally sign it before hand they will make you redo the application.

Step 4: Get the money ready
We brought cash in the amounts needed for the two fees. Look at the fee table to see what fees you should be prepared to pay. The post office we went to took cash for one fee and made us purchase a money order for the second fee.

Tip #4: Some accepting locations only take cash, others only take money orders or checks. To be safe, call the location you plan to go to in advance to find out what you need to bring.

Step 5: Apply!
There are 1000s of places where you can apply, mostly post offices, but you can't just show up any time you want. Instead, check the acceptance search page to find locations near you and what hours they will accept passports. In my area, all the local post offices only accepted passport applications up to 3 or 4 pm on weekdays. Since I work during those hours, we had to go to the post office 3 cities away which accepted passports until 7 pm. The application process at the post office should take no longer than 20 minutes, but you have to wait in line with everyone else at the post office.

Step 6: Track your Passport
You can sort of see how your application is being processed by going to their status check page. They don't tell you a ton of information on there, but by signing up to receive updates you will get an email when your passport is sent so that you know to look out for it in the mail. Your passport will come in one envelope and your birth certificate will be returned separately.

Tip #5: Keep your eye out for anything that may be from the government. I got a letter stating my photos were rejected. Luckily when I sent in my new photos to their Chicago address, it only took a week before my passport was sent out to me. Be aware that a letter might come so that you don't delay your passport anymore than it needs to be.

Step 7: Verify and store your Passport
As soon as you get your passport, review all of the information found within the passport. If anything is incorrect you only have a short time to report it before they will charge you for a new one. They also send you a card where you can write down your passport number in case it gets lost and needs to be replaced, but I took this a step further. I made a copy of our passport information page so that in the event my passport gets misplaced, I can have a copy to show them when asking for a replacement.

Tip #6: They advise that you keep your passport and the card with your number in it in two separate locations so that they don't both get lost together. You should also keep your birth certificate separate. When you travel, carry both your passport and the backup card but keep them separate. DON'T PUT THEM IN YOUR LUGGAGE

Step 8: Enjoy your travels!
Now that you have your passport, have fun using it and traveling outside of the US. Enjoy!