Child Support & The Passport Denial Program

When a parent is ordered to pay child support, they know they will face legal ramifications if they fail to comply with the child support order. Driver’s license suspension and even jail time are possible consequences of neglecting one’s duty to pay child support. One consequence parents may not be aware of is something called the Passport Denial Program.

The Passport Denial Program was created to help states enforce and collect delinquent child support payments. Under the terms of the program, if a parent owes more than $2,500 in past due child support, their names will be forwarded to the Department of State. Should that parent try to renew their passport or apply for a new passport, they will be denied a passport until the Office of Child Support Enforcement has given the green light.

In the event that your passport has been denied, there are steps you can take to get it back. The passport agency will hold your application for 90 days while you work on resolving your child support debt. If the OCSE releases your cases before 90 days are up, your passport will get mailed back to you. If it takes the OCSE longer than 90 days to release your case, you’ll need to resubmit a new application.