Can you get a passport with a felony?

The rules

• There is no federal rule that denies a passport just because you have a felony conviction. The State Department can only deny or revoke a passport for the specific reasons listed in its regulations.¹

  The denial and revocation grounds are in 22 CFR 51.60 (denial and restriction), 51.61 (certain convicted drug traffickers) and 51.62 (revocation). They cover things like open warrants, court orders, child support debt, certain drug and sex-offense convictions, tax debt and fraud on the application, not felony convictions in general.

• If you were convicted of a federal or state felony drug offense and you used a U.S. passport or crossed an international border to commit it, you can't get a passport while you are in prison or on parole or supervised release for that conviction.^2,3

  This is 22 U.S.C. 2714 and 22 CFR 51.61(a). It applies only during the period you are imprisoned (including a halfway house or similar facility) or on parole or other supervised release after that imprisonment; once that ends, this bar no longer applies. The law also says the State Department must revoke a passport already issued to someone covered. Covered offenses include Controlled Substances Act and Controlled Substances Import and Export Act violations, state laws on making, distributing or possessing controlled substances, and certain money-laundering or Bank Secrecy Act violations tied to drug trafficking. For a misdemeanor drug offense with the same border element, the State Department may refuse a passport, except for a first conviction for possession only (22 CFR 51.61(b)).

• The State Department may refuse a passport if you have an outstanding federal, state or local arrest warrant for a felony, or if a criminal court order or a condition of your probation or parole forbids you to leave the United States.⁴

  These are discretionary grounds in 22 CFR 51.60(b): (b)(1) outstanding federal felony warrant, (b)(9) outstanding state or local felony warrant, and (b)(2) a criminal court order, condition of probation or condition of parole that forbids departure. Other grounds in the same paragraph include a federal subpoena in a felony prosecution or grand jury matter (b)(6) and extradition requests. Under 51.60(d), a felony arrest warrant reported by a foreign government can also be a reason to refuse.

• You can't get a passport if the Department of Health and Human Services has certified that you owe more than $2,500 in past-due child support, and the State Department may revoke a passport you already have for the same reason.^4,5

  This is a mandatory denial under 22 CFR 51.60(a)(2) (certification under 42 U.S.C. 652(k)). The State Department's page says that once you pay the state child support agency, the state tells HHS, HHS removes your name and tells the State Department, which can take at least 2-3 weeks. A passport that was revoked can't be used for travel even after the debt is paid. If you are abroad, you are generally limited to a passport for direct return to the U.S. until HHS confirms repayment.

• If you are a "covered sex offender" (required to register for a sex offense against a minor), you can still get a passport book, but it will carry a printed statement identifying you as a covered sex offender, and you can't get a passport card.^1,6

  This comes from International Megan's Law (22 U.S.C. 212b) and 22 CFR 51.60(a)(4) and (g). DHS's Angel Watch Center certifies who is a covered sex offender. Separately, a conviction under 18 U.S.C. 2423 (illicit sexual conduct involving travel) that was committed using a passport or by crossing an international border, when reported by the Attorney General, leads to denial or revocation except for a passport limited to direct return to the U.S. (22 CFR 51.60(h) and 51.62(d)).

• The State Department has a separate process for people whose passport was taken by a court or law enforcement agency, or who are on or have finished probation or parole.⁷

  Its page lists documents showing supervision has ended (a discharge notice or letter of termination from your probation officer, or a court order ending supervised probation or parole) to include with a new application. To get back a still-valid passport that a court or agency is holding, you send a notarized request plus a signed letter or email from your probation officer on official letterhead giving permission (or proof that supervision ended); the page says this can take up to 8 weeks. Revoked, expired, lost or stolen passports can't be returned.

What can stand in the way

• Being on probation, parole or supervised release with a condition that forbids leaving the country, or under a criminal court order that does, can get your application refused.⁴

  22 CFR 51.60(b)(2). Ask your probation or parole officer, or the court, what your conditions allow before you apply or book travel.

• An open felony arrest warrant (federal, state, local, or reported by a foreign government) can block a passport.⁴

  22 CFR 51.60(b)(1), (b)(9) and (d).

• Debts can block a passport even with no criminal issue: child support over $2,500, IRS-certified seriously delinquent federal tax debt, and unpaid repatriation or emergency loans from the U.S. government.^5,8

  The State Department says it can't issue a passport if the IRS informs it you have seriously delinquent tax debt and that a valid passport may be revoked; resolve it with the IRS. Repatriation-loan defaults are a mandatory denial under 22 CFR 51.60(a)(1).

Waivers and exceptions

• Even when the drug-trafficking bar applies, the State Department may issue a passport for emergency or humanitarian reasons.^2,3

  22 U.S.C. 2714 (emergency and humanitarian exception) and 22 CFR 51.61(c).

• For many denials or revocations you can ask for a hearing, in writing, within 60 days of receiving the notice; the denial letter must state the specific reasons.⁹

  22 CFR 51.65 and 51.70-51.74. No hearing is available for some grounds, including the mandatory bars in 51.60(a) (such as certified child support debt) and the drug-trafficking bar in 51.61(a); for those, the fix is resolving the underlying issue. At a hearing you must show by a preponderance of the evidence that the action was improper.

• If you are abroad and blocked by certain grounds, the State Department can issue a passport limited to direct return to the United States.⁴

  22 CFR 51.60(a) and (i); the child support and tax debt pages say the same for travelers overseas.

How states handle it

Passports are issued under federal law, so the rules are the same in every state. Your state matters only indirectly: state courts and parole boards set the travel conditions of your sentence, state agencies certify child support debt, and state felony warrants count.

What to do next

1. If you are on probation, parole or supervised release, read your conditions and ask your officer or the court whether you may hold a passport and travel abroad. Get any permission in writing.
2. Clear any open warrants and pending cases first; an outstanding felony warrant is a reason to refuse.
3. If your conviction was a felony drug offense that involved crossing a border, check whether you are still in prison or on parole or supervised release for it. The bar lifts when that period ends; if you need to travel sooner for an emergency or humanitarian reason, ask about the exception.
4. If you owe child support, pay the state child support agency so your arrears are at or below $2,500 and allow at least 2-3 weeks for HHS to clear your name before you apply.
5. Apply the normal way. If a court or agency took your passport or you are on or have finished probation or parole, follow the State Department's probation and parole page and include the documents it lists.
6. If you are denied, read the letter for the specific reason and the deadline; for many grounds you can request a hearing within 60 days.

Where to ask

• State Department: Legal Matters (passports)

  Hub for child support, tax debt, probation and parole, and International Megan's Law passport pages.

• State Department: Get a Passport On or After Probation or Parole

  Documents to include and how to ask for return of a passport held by a court or agency.

• State Department: Passports and Child Support Debt

  How the $2,500 threshold works and how to get cleared. Questions: 1-877-487-2778.

• 22 CFR Part 51, Subpart E (eCFR)

  The full list of denial and revocation grounds.

Felony or misdemeanor?

Some of the rules on this page treat felonies and misdemeanors differently, and each state decides which crimes are which. See how your state grades crimes, or check a specific charge on Is it a felony?.

Could clearing your record help?

In many states a sealed or expunged record no longer shows up on most background checks, though agencies and licensing boards can often still see it. See how record clearing works in your state.