If you have been issued any of the following documents, you may immediately begin your application for your first U.S. passport. If you are no longer in possession of any of these documents, you must obtain a certified copy from the issuing authority.

A U.S. Birth Certificate – for certified copies, please contact the state in which you were born. The National Center for Health Statistics maintains a list of states’ contact information for this purpose;

A Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) – for certified copies, please contact the Passport Services Office at the Department of State;

A Certification of Birth (Form FS-545 or DS-1350) – for certified copies, please contact the Passport Services Office at the Department of State;

A U.S. Certificate of Citizenship – for certified copies, please contact the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services;

A U.S. Naturalization Certificate – for certified copies, please contact the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services;

A passport of your U.S. citizen parent(s) in which you are included – for a copy of your parents’ passport records, please contact Passport Services Office at the Department of State.

Once you are in possession of one of the listed documents, please see our instructions for applying for your first U.S. passport.

If you were born outside the United States, have not been previously documented as a U.S. citizen and are:

• under the age of 18: please see our instructions for obtaining a Consular Report of Birth Abroad;
• over the age of 18: you should review the information concerning transmission requirements (PDF 162 KB) to see if your parent(s) had the prerequisite physical presence in the United States required by U.S. citizenship law in effect at that time. If, based on this information, you believe you have a claim to U.S. citizenship, please see Eligibility for Citizenship and follow the instructions provided.

Please see “Renounce U.S. Citizenship“.

In the 1980’s, the Supreme Court ruled that U.S. citizenship is a constitutional right that cannot be taken away from a citizen who does not intend to relinquish it. Therefore, such actions as naturalization in a foreign country, travel on a foreign passport, employment with a foreign government, and voting in a foreign election do not automatically jeopardize American citizenship. However, please note that all U.S. citizens, even dual nationals, must enter and depart the United States on U.S. passports.