Format On the front cover, a representation of the
Great Seal of the United States is at the center. "PASSPORT" (in all capital letters) appears above the representation of the Great Seal, and "United States of America" appears below (in
Garamond italic on non-biometric passports, and
Minion italic on post-biometric passports). An official passport has "OFFICIAL" (in all capital letters) above "PASSPORT". The capital letters of "OFFICIAL" are somewhat smaller than the capital letters of "PASSPORT". A diplomatic passport has "DIPLOMATIC" (in all capital letters) above "PASSPORT". The capital letters of "DIPLOMATIC" are somewhat smaller than the capital letters of "PASSPORT".
Passport message Passports of many countries contain a message, nominally from the official who is in charge of passport issuance (e.g., secretary of state, minister of foreign affairs), addressed to authorities of other countries. The message identifies the bearer as a citizen of the issuing country, requests permission for the bearer to enter and pass through the other country, and requests further that, when necessary, the bearer be given help consistent with international norms. In American passports, the message is in English, French, and Spanish. The message reads: In
English: ::
The Secretary of State of the United States of America hereby requests all whom it may concern to permit the citizen/national of the United States named herein to pass without delay or hindrance and in case of need to give all lawful aid and protection. in
French: :: ''Le Secrétaire d'Etat des Etats-Unis d'Amérique prie par les présentes toutes autorités compétentes de laisser passer le citoyen ou ressortissant des Etats-Unis titulaire du présent passeport, sans délai ni difficulté et, en cas de besoin, de lui accorder toute aide et protection légitimes.'' and in
Spanish: ::
El Secretario de Estado de los Estados Unidos de América por el presente solicita a las autoridades competentes permitir el paso del ciudadano o nacional de los Estados Unidos aquí nombrado, sin demora ni dificultades, y en caso de necesidad, prestarle toda la ayuda y protección lícitas. The term "citizen/national" and its equivalent terms ("citoyen ou ressortissant"; "ciudadano o nacional") are used in the message as some people born in
American Samoa, including
Swains Island, are
nationals but not citizens of the United States. The masculine inflections of "Le Secrétaire d'Etat" and "El Secretario de Estado" are used in all passports, regardless of the sex of the Secretary of State at the time of issue.
Languages At a
League of Nations conference in 1920 about passports and through-train travel, a recommendation was that passports be written in
French (historically, the language of diplomacy) and one other language. English, the
de facto national language of the United States, has always been used in U.S. passports. At some point after 1920, English and French were used in passports. Spanish was added during the second term of the
Clinton administration. The field names on the data page, the passport message, the field names and emergency instructions on the “personal data and emergency contact” page, and the designations of the amendments-and-endorsements pages, are printed in
English,
French, and
Spanish.
Data page Each passport has a data page and a signature page. A data page is a page containing information about the passport holder. It is the only page in a U.S. passport laminated in plastic to prevent tampering. A data page has a visual zone and a
machine-readable zone. The visual zone has a digitized photograph of the passport holder, data about the passport, and data about the passport holder: • Photograph • Type [of document, which is "P" for "passport"] • Code [of the issuing country, which is "USA" for "United States of America"] • Passport Number • Surname • Given Name • Nationality (United States of America) • Date of Birth • Place of Birth (see below) • Sex (F or M, as determined by
Executive Order 14168) • Date of Issue • Date of Expiration • Authority (United States Department of State) • Endorsements The
machine-readable zone is present at the bottom of the page.
Genders In June 2021,
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that an option for American passport holders to select a
third gender category on their passports was planned but would take time to implement. Additionally, applicants changing their gender would no longer be required to provide external documentation like a court order or medical certification.
Dana Zzyym, who had sued the Department of State for not issuing a passport with a non-binary gender marker in 2015, was reportedly issued the first US passport with an "X" gender designation in October 2021. "X" was added as a gender option for all applicants on April 11, 2022. Issuance of passports with the "X" marker was suspended in January 2025 after the
second Trump administration declared the federal government would only recognize binary sex assigned at "conception" [sic] via
an executive order.
Place of birth Place of birth was first added to U.S. passports in 1917. The standards for the names of places of birth that appear in passports are listed in volume 8 of the Foreign Affairs Manual, published by the Department of State. A request to list no place of birth in a passport is never accepted.
U.S. birthplaces For birthplaces within the United States and its territories, it contains the name of the state or territory followed by "U.S.A." (e.g. North Carolina, U.S.A), except for the
U.S. Virgin Islands and
American Samoa which are listed alone. Passports may also indicate the city of applicants born in U.S. states, but are not required. For persons born in
Washington State or the
District of Columbia, passports indicate "Washington, U.S.A." or "Washington, D.C., U.S.A.", respectively, as the place of birth.
Foreign birthplaces For an American whose birthplace is outside the United States, only the country or
dependent territory is mentioned. The name of the country is the current name of the country that presently controls the place of birth, regardless of what the name was at the time of birth. For example, Americans born before 1991 in the former
Soviet Union (including the
Baltic states, whose annexation by the Soviet Union was never recognized by the U.S.) would have the post-Soviet country name listed as the place of birth, e.g.
Armenia instead of the
Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,
Soviet Union. Another example is that for Americans born in the former
Panama Canal Zone, "
Panama" is listed as the place of birth for people born on or after October 1, 1979; people born before October 1 can choose to designate the city of place of birth. A citizen born outside the United States who objects to the standard country name may be allowed to have the municipality of birth entered on the passport. However, if a foreign country denies a visa or entry because of the place-of-birth designation, the Department of State will issue a replacement passport at normal fees, and will not facilitate entry into the foreign country. •
China, Taiwan, Hong Kong/Macau SARs: Special provisions exist to deal with the complexities of American passport holders born in the
Greater China Region. Per the
One-China policy, the United States recognizes the
People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China, while considering the status of
Taiwan to be undetermined. However, Americans born in Taiwan can choose to have either "Taiwan", "China", or their city of birth listed as place of birth. Americans born in
Hong Kong or
Macau would have their place of birth as "Hong Kong
SAR" or "Macau SAR", but the option of listing the city of birth only (e.g. "Hong Kong" or "Macau" without "SAR") is not available. As
Tibet is recognized as part of China, the place of birth for Americans born in Tibet is written as "China", with the option of listing only the city of birth. •
Israel and the Palestinian territories: Special provisions are in place for Americans born in
Israel and the Palestinian territories. For births in places other than
Jerusalem and the
Golan Heights, "Israel", "
West Bank", or "
Gaza Strip" is used. If born before 1948 or in other cases, "
Palestine" may be used. For births in the Golan Heights, "Israel" has been used since March 2019 when the US recognized the Golan Heights as part of Israel; previously "
Syria" was used regardless of date of birth. Prior to October 2020, due to the
legal uncertainty of the status of Jerusalem, "Jerusalem" was used for births in Jerusalem within its 1948 municipal borders regardless of date of birth. A federal appeals court declared the 2002 law invalid on July 23, 2013, and the Supreme Court
upheld that decision on June 8, 2015. In October 2020, the Department of State announced that it had changed its policy and stated that Americans born in Jerusalem would be permitted to have either "Jerusalem" or "Israel" designated as their place of birth. However, for those who were born before 1948 in areas outside of Jerusalem's 1948 municipal limits but now are included within Jerusalem, their place of birth is listed as "Palestine" or the area's name as known before the expansion of Jerusalem. Those born after 1948 in these areas may choose to have the area's name listed as their place of birth, but not as "Jordan" or "West Bank".
Endorsement and signature page The endorsement page is used to record supplementary personal information related to the passport holder. In general, endorsements are made in connection with passport renewal upon expiration, or to record information concerning the loss or damage of a previous passport. This page may not be used for the placement of visas or for entry and exit stamps. In the 2007 passport design, this section originally consisted of two pages located after the visa pages. However, in the 2021 design update, the standalone endorsement page was discontinued and replaced by a merged endorsement and signature page located on the page immediately facing the data page for easier visibility. Furthermore, all endorsements in the 2021 redesign are pre-printed at the time of issuance and cannot be altered. As a result, any change to an endorsement requires the issuance of a new passport. In the integrated endorsement page of NGP, a color photograph of the passport holder is also included in addition to the holder’s signature field and the endorsement itself, serving as a supplement the black-and-white photograph displayed on the polycarbonate data page.
Signature A signature page has a line for the signature of a passport holder. A passport is not valid until it is signed by the passport holder in black or blue ink. If a holder is unable to sign their passport, it is to be signed by a person who has legal authority to sign on the holder's behalf.
Endorsements Endorsements generally concern information pertaining either to the passport or to the passport holder, and may be classified into the following categories:
Emergency Contact Until early production runs of the Next Generation Passport (NGP), booklets continued to include a page intended for the passport holder to handwrite personal and emergency contact information for use in emergency situations. However, as of 2024, this page has been removed from the most recently produced passport batches. Instead, An “Important Travel and Safety Data” page featuring a QR code linking to the U.S. Department of State’s official website has been added to replace it, encouraging all holders to enroll in the
Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). == Application ==