State Department to revoke passports over unpaid child support debt
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The U.S. State Department will begin revoking the passports of thousands of Americans who owe significant amounts of unpaid child support, according to officials.
The cancellations will begin Friday and will initially focus on parents who owe $100,000 or more in past-due child support. There are approximately 2,700 passport holders in this group, according to figures provided by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Under federal law, anyone with more than $2,500 in unpaid, court-ordered child support may be denied a passport or have their current passport revoked, the State Department announced Thursday. The department has expanded coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services to include parents above that threshold, officials said.
This sanction is intended to pressure delinquent parents to comply with court-ordered child support obligations, officials said.
In one hand is a US passport and certified vaccination card, as well as luggage and a laptop bag prepared for a business trip due to new travel requirements. (iStock)
According to the instructions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after the passport is canceled, it can no longer be used for travel, even if the debt is paid later. The State Department recommended that any American who owes a significant amount of child support contact the appropriate government agency and arrange payment before any passport processing occurs.
MINISTRY OF STATE WITHDRAWS ADDITIONAL PASSPORTS FROM PARENTS WHO OBTAIN CHILD SUPPORT
“Eligibility for a new passport will be reinstated only after the child support arrears have been paid to the appropriate state child support enforcement agency and the individual is no longer delinquent according to HHS records,” they said.
Passengers wait in line to use the Automated Passport Control Kiosks at Miami International Airport on March 4, 2015 in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Affected individuals should work with the child support enforcement agency of the state where the debt is located. HHS then has to update the State Department’s records before it can process a new passport; The ministry says this process could take at least two to three weeks.
It was unclear Thursday how many passport holders owe more than $2,500 because HHS is still collecting data from government agencies that track the numbers, but the number could include thousands more, officials told The Associated Press.
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After visiting the Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel on October 24, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the State Department would suspend all Afghan passport visas. (Getty Images)
A passport holder who is abroad at the time of cancellation will need to contact the country where the debt is owed and may visit the U.S. embassy or consulate to process the passport application. Until HHS verifies that the debt has been repaid, such individuals may only be eligible for a limited-validity passport to return directly to the United States, the State Department said.
“The State Department puts American families first in our passport processing,” they said.
The passport denial program has existed for decades and is used by federal and state authorities as a tool to enforce past-due child support obligations. The Administration for Children and Families says state child support agencies submit qualifying cases and federal authorities forward those records to the State Department.
