State Department to Revoke Passports of Parents Owing Over $2,500 in Child Support

The State Department will begin revoking U.S. passports from parents who owe more than $2,500 in child support, enforcing a provision of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 that was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Until this week, the penalty applied only to parents who applied to renew their passports.

Under the new policy, the Department of Health and Human Services will identify individuals with past-due child support payments exceeding $2,500 and share that information with the State Department. The department did not state when the policy would start to be enforced, but the Associated Press reported it would begin on Friday.

Notices of passport revocations will be sent via email or to the mailing address associated with the individual's most recent passport application. Parents whose passports are revoked will be eligible only for a limited-validity passport for direct return to the United States. To obtain such a document, they must apply in person at a U.S. embassy or consulate.

“You are only eligible for a limited-validity passport for direct return to the United States until HHS verifies repayment of the debt,” the State Department said. A passport that has already been revoked cannot be used to travel, even if the child support debt was paid off after revocation.

The process of confirming repayment with HHS and notifying the State Department can take two to three weeks at minimum.

The 1996 law gives the government authority to deny or revoke passports for parents owing more than $2,500 in child support. The agency will work with HHS to identify individuals who owe significant child support debt.