Services for Americans

Passport Services

Renewal of Expiring/Recently Expired Passports

If your American passport is about to expire, you may apply for a new passport at the Embassy's American Citizens Services (ACS) Unit in the Consular Section. For renewal of a passport you must have:
(a) Your current passport;
(b) 2 recent identical photos 5x5 cm, full face - NOT a profile; and
(c) the current relevant passport fee.

Adults Over 16

If your passport is about to expire, is lost, or is stolen, you may apply for a new passport at the Embassy's Consular section in person. Documents required for applicants over the age of 16 are:

a. A current or expired passport or if it has been lost or stolen, a U.S. birth certificate, U.S. naturalization certificate, or any other U.S. passport issued to you in the past; as well as proof of identity such as a U.S. driver's license;

b. Two recent identical photographs, color or black and white, full face - NOT profile, size 5 cm x 5 cm (2" x 2").

Minors Under 16

Please note that children under the age of 16 have different requirements for renewing their passports. Under a new regulation (effective February 1, 2008), a person applying for an U.S. passport for a child under 16 must demonstrate that both parents consent to the issuance of a passport to the child or that the applying parent has sole authority to obtain the passport.

For children under age 16, you must establish proof of citizenship and proof of relationship to the applying parent or guardian. For proof of citizenship, you must present the previous fully valid US passport. If the previous passport is not available, you must present a certified US birth certificate, or a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240), or a Certificate of Citizenship or Naturalization from the Department of Homeland Security – United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

As proof of relationship the applying parents must submit identification documents and at least one of the following: a certified birth certificate listing the parents’ names, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (FS-240), an Adoption Decree with the adopting parents’ names, a court order establishing custody, or a court order establishing guardianship. If the parent’s or guardian’s name on the identification presented is other than that on these documents, evidence of legal name change is required.

Initial Passport Application and Establishment of U.S. Citizenship

Adults 16 and over

If you are a first-time adult passport applicant or have not previously established proof of United States citizenship, the documentary requirements vary from case to case and always require a personal appearance with a consular officer. Applicants should be prepared at a minimum to bring a current piece of official identification such as a U.S. driver’s license, military ID or a foreign passport as well as one of the following forms of citizenship verification: a U.S. Birth Certificate, a Certificate of Naturalization, or a Consular Report of Birth Abroad.

Minors Under 16

The process of establishment of citizenship for a minor depends on several factors including the place of the child’s birth, the citizenship of the child’s parents and the marital status of the child’s parents at the time of birth. Documentary requirements vary from case to case and always require a personal appearance with a consular officer.

If you are applying for a child's first passport, it is usually obtained with a Report of Birth of a U.S. Citizen Abroad, two pictures of the child (see Passport Photo Requirements), and the relevant passport fee. A person applying for an U.S. passport for a child under 16 must demonstrate that both parents consent to the issuance of a passport to the child or that the applying parent has sole authority to obtain the passport. In all cases the child must be present when the passport/citizenship application is submitted.

When only one parent appears at the Embassy or Consulate to apply for the minor's passport, a notarized statement of consent is required from the other parent. The statement must be in English and must give the non-appearing parent's unequivocal and unconditional consent to the issuance of the passport. The consent must be notarized before either a Notary Public in the United States or before a foreign notary in most countries or at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad.

Passport applications made at domestic U.S. passport agencies in the United States and at U.S. consular offices abroad follow the same law and regulations. Exceptions to this requirement may be made in special family circumstances or exigent circumstances necessitating the immediate travel of the child.

The requirement of the consent of both parents is designed to lessen the possibility that an U.S. passport might be used in the course of an international parental child abduction.

As of February 1, 2008, the age at which a minor may execute his or her own passport application was raised from 14 to 16.

Parents having concerns about passport applications for any minor child who may become the victim of an international parental child abduction, including children between the ages of 16 and 18 who are not covered by this regulation, should contact the Office of Children's Issues in the Bureau of Consular Affairs at (202) 663-2641.

Lost and Stolen Passports

Lost or stolen passports should be reported to the Embassy’s American Citizen Services Unit as soon as possible to prevent unauthorized activity with the missing passport.

If your passport was lost or stolen, you are advised to make a police statement of the circumstances concerning the loss/theft (locations of Bucharest's police stations are noted below). Please bring a copy of the police statement to the Embassy when you apply for an emergency passport.

New limited-validity passports are usually issued the same day; however if no evidence of identity and citizenship is presented, the waiting period may be longer.

POLICE HEADQUARTERS OF THE SIX DISTRICTS OF BUCHAREST

Emergency Passports

All passports, except those required for urgent travel, are issued in the United States using a photo-digitized imaging system. U.S. embassies and consulates may only issue passports needed for urgent travel, however, these passports are of limited validity and may not be extended. Bearers will be required to exchange, at no additional cost, their limited-validity passports for a full-validity digitized passport upon completion of their urgent travel.

Application requirements, including fees, for emergency passports are the same as those for full-validity passports.

When the emergency travel has been completed, you will have two options in applying for a full validity passport. You can either submit your application to any U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad or, if in the United States, your local Passport Agency. There will be no additional cost as long as the emergency passport is still valid and is presented for cancellation. If the emergency passport expires or is lost, passport application fees must be paid again.

Please note that two consecutive emergency passports cannot be issued. If you are issued an emergency passport, your next application must be for a full-validity passport, which will be printed in the U.S. and take approximately 15 working days to process.

Passport Photo Requirements

Submit two identical photos of you, taken within the last 6 months, 2" by 2" in size (5 cm x 5 cm), with an image size from bottom of chin to top of head of between 1 and 1-3/8 inches (no smaller than the dotted line and no larger than the outer continuous line). Photographs must be clear, front view, full face, taken in normal street attire without a hat or dark glasses, printed on thin paper with a plain light (white or off-white) background.

The following studios near the Embassy are some of the studios that are able to take properly sized photos. You may take your photos at any studio that produces them properly:

1. Prelucrari foto digitale - Str. Batistei nr. 11 (near the Consulate)
2. Top Service Total (3 locations)
• Bdul Magheru 9A (by the Eva store)
• Piata Romana 32-34
• Piata Kogalniceanu
3. Quickie Foto on Str. Batistei, near the Intercontinental Hotel (underground, at the Metro entrance)

Addition of Pages to a Passport

The Embassy can also add pages to a full passport free of charge. Americans must bring their passports with them and fill out an application form. Pages can generally be added in the same day.

A full validity passport takes approximately 15 days to issue. If you are traveling within 15 working days, and you can provide proof of this travel, you may apply for an emergency limited-validity passport, which cannot be extended. Same-day issuance is available for applications that are complete and straightforward. In some cases, however, we may be required to refer to the Department of State; therefore, some cases may take longer.

For Your Own Security

The U.S. Embassy strongly recommends that you make a photocopy of your U.S. passport as well as any relevant visas and/or entry stamps and keep it a safe location in case something happens to the original.

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