Passports Soon Required for All International Travel Including Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean

The rules for Americans traveling to neighboring countries are about to change. As of June 1, 2009, all adult U.S. citizens will be required to have a valid passport when traveling to any foreign country by any mode of transportation – airplane, boat or vehicle.

Previously, passports were required only for international airplane travel, and a birth certificate and driver’s license were valid for those driving or taking a cruise ship to neighboring countries.

However, as of June 1, U.S. citizens traveling to the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada or Bermuda, must now have a U.S. passport or a U.S. passport card.

All international airline passengers – including children – must have a passport, but adult passengers aboard cruise ships, buses or cars may use the less expensive U.S. passport card. Their U.S. citizen children under the age of 16 traveling only by land or sea will be able to present a certified copy of their birth certificate.

A certified copy of a birth certificate is needed as part of the passport application. A baby footprint birth certificate from a hospital is not acceptable as a legal document.

Tri-County Health Department can provide these certified birth certificates. People can order birth certificates in person, by mail and over the Internet. Birth certificates are available for any person born in anywhere in Colorado since 1903.

The cost is $17.75 for the first certificate and $10 for each additional copy of the same name. Cash, checks, Visa and MasterCard are accepted. Birth certificates are usually issued within minutes when ordered in person, but passports can take up to eight weeks for processing by the U.S. government, so travelers need to plan ahead.

Tri-County’s administrative office is open Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and located at 7000 East Belleview Avenue, three blocks west of I-25 on Belleview.

Individuals may also order birth certificates and download passport application forms online 24 hours a day through the Tri-County Health Department website, www.tchd.org/birthcertificates.html. Call (303) 220-9200 for more information.