The days are gone when airlines will just believe that you have your own child when traveling. You will need to show identification for any child who is traveling. Even an infant must have a child passport to travel so you will need to get one if you want to fly on an airplane. This includes travel to even Canada or Mexico.

Obtaining a passport for your child is a good idea anyway. You can use it for many instances where your child needs legal identification. You can update their photo as they grow. There are certain items you need to be prepared to bring when applying for a child passport.

Your children’s legal birth certificate will be needed. It needs to be the actual certificate with the seal and not a copy or the little card that you may have. They will submit it with the application so know this in advance. You will get it back but you might want more than one copy so you have one on hand while they keep it.

You will also need proof that you are the parent. You will need to prove this with a birth certificate or custody papers if it is an adoption. If one parent is not present and both have custody you will need a notarized signature on a form you get from the post office or download online of the absent parent. If you have sole custody and the other parent is not in the picture you will need your signed court documents to prove it when applying for a passport for your child.

You will also need your child’s social security number for the DS-11 application that is submitted to the federal government. It is best to bring your child’s social security card with you just in case. They will not collect this piece of material.

You have to prove your identification as well. You can use your passport or driver’s license. You can also use a military ID if you have one. There are also other documents you can use. Just check with their website before you go if you have other types of identification.

You can bring your own photos to the application process but they need to be certain specs to be acceptable. They are very stringent on this so do not bring a class photo or baby picture. Go to a professional photographer and have them take a passport photo and they will know what to do. You will need two pictures. Some places will also take your photo for you so check in advance where you are applying.

Be prepared for the costs of a United States passport as well. They are around eighty dollars each to date so plan for this. The exact amount of a child passport can be calculated on the USPS website or other sites. Have all of your documentation ready, photos and enough of a payment to get a child us passport. You will receive it in about six weeks so plan ahead and be prepared.