Can a Divorced Parent Travel Out of the Country With Their Child?

A divorced parent traveling internationally with a child needs three things in hand: the child’s valid U.S. passport, a notarized letter from the other parent authorizing the trip, and a copy of the custody order or divorce decree. The United States does not routinely stop children from leaving the country, so the scrutiny you should plan for happens at your destination’s border, not at your departure gate.¹

Getting the Child’s Passport

For a child under 16, both parents or legal guardians must appear in person with the child and sign Form DS-11.² The two-parent rule exists specifically to prevent one parent from secretly getting a passport for the child. Children’s passports are valid for five years and can’t be renewed by mail; each renewal restarts the in-person process. A child’s passport book costs $135 total, split between a $100 State Department application fee and a $35 acceptance fee at the facility.³

If your co-parent can’t come in person, they can sign a Statement of Consent (Form DS-3053) in front of a notary and send it along with a photocopy of the ID they showed the notary.² If you have sole legal custody or a court order granting you the authority to obtain a passport for your child, submit that order instead. If you genuinely cannot locate the other parent, Form DS-5525 (Statement of Special Family Circumstances) asks you to explain what you did to try. The State Department reviews these case by case and may ask for extra evidence such as a custody or restraining order.

The Consent Letter From the Other Parent

A child travel consent letter is a signed, notarized statement from the non-traveling parent confirming they’ve authorized the trip. U.S. law doesn’t technically require it to leave the country, but the State Department recommends carrying one, and many destination countries expect to see it.⁴

The letter should include:

The child’s full legal name and date of birth
The traveling parent’s full name and contact details
The non-traveling parent’s full name, address, and phone number, so border officials can verify the authorization
Destination country or countries, travel dates, and flight information
The non-traveling parent’s signature, witnessed by a notary public

The State Department advises that the letter be in English and notarized.⁵ Some countries require it in their official language as well, so check with the destination’s embassy before you go. Notary fees typically run between $2 and $25 per signature depending on where you live.

If you have sole custody, you don’t need a consent letter from the other parent, but you should carry the court order that establishes it and be ready to show it.⁵

Destination Country Rules Vary Widely

The United States has no routine exit controls that would stop a child from leaving with one parent, and unless a specific court order prohibits it, nobody at the U.S. gate will check whether the other parent approved the trip.¹ The checks happen when you arrive, and requirements range from relaxed to strict.

Canada recommends that a parent traveling alone with a child bring the child’s birth certificate, a letter of authorization signed by the non-traveling parent (with their address and phone number), and a photocopy of that parent’s signed passport or ID. Divorced parents with shared custody should also carry the custody order. A border officer may not ask for any of it, but if they do and you don’t have it, the child can be refused entry.⁷

Mexico is more relaxed. Mexican immigration allows a minor to enter and leave when traveling with at least one parent, provided the child has a valid passport, and no consent letter is formally required at the border.⁸ Carrying one is still a sensible precaution.

Brazil sits at the strict end. A child traveling with only one parent must have two original written authorizations from the absent parent and a copy of the birth certificate. If the absent parent is in the United States, the authorization must be executed at a Brazilian consulate on their specific form. Letters notarized by a U.S. notary are not accepted by Brazilian border police.⁹ Sort this out at home, not at the airport.

Weeks before departure, contact the embassy or consulate of your destination and ask specifically about entry and exit rules for minors.⁶

Translations and Apostilles

If your destination isn’t English-speaking, you may need certified translations of your consent letter and custody order.⁵ A certified translation from a professional is usually enough, though some countries insist on sworn translators registered in their own system.

Some countries also require an apostille, an internationally recognized authentication stamp for documents used between countries that participate in the 1961 Hague Convention on legalizing documents. Custody orders and birth certificates are state-issued, so the apostille comes from the secretary of state in the state that issued the document, not from the federal government.¹⁰ If your destination isn’t a party to that treaty, you’ll need an authentication certificate instead. Either process takes time; build it into your timeline.

When the Other Parent Won’t Consent

If your co-parent refuses to sign a consent letter or cooperate with the passport application, your remaining option is family court. You’ll file a motion asking the judge to authorize the trip and, if the child has no passport, to order one issued. Filing fees for this kind of motion generally run from around $50 to $300 depending on the court, with attorney costs on top of that.

Judges decide these motions using the best interests of the child standard. The court will weigh the purpose and benefit of the trip, the safety and stability of the destination, and how strong your ties are to the home community. Whether the destination participates in the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction matters a lot: judges are far more likely to approve travel to a Hague signatory because there’s a legal mechanism to get the child back if things go wrong.¹¹ Travel to a non-signatory country with no return mechanism is a much harder sell.

If the trip is close and you can’t wait for a regular hearing, most courts allow emergency motions where waiting would make the relief meaningless, such as a non-refundable trip departing next week. In some places a judge can rule on an emergency motion the same day or the next business day. The court may also condition approval on safeguards: a financial bond guaranteeing your return, surrendering the child’s passport to the court between trips, or providing a detailed itinerary with daily contact information. Offering these upfront makes it easier for the judge to say yes.

If You’re Worried the Other Parent Might Take the Child

Two tools are worth knowing about, and neither is foolproof.

The Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program

The State Department’s Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program (CPIAP) is a free service that flags any U.S. passport application filed for your child. Once you’re enrolled, the Department will contact you if an application comes in, verify whether the required two-parent consent was given, and tell you whether any U.S. passports already exist for the child.¹² To enroll, download Form DS-3077 (one per child), attach proof of your identity and legal relationship, and submit by email to PreventAbduction1@state.gov or by mail. The program covers U.S. citizen children under 18. Keep your contact information current, because an alert to an old phone number does no good.

CPIAP has real limits. It cannot block a foreign passport, cannot prevent travel on a passport the child already has, and cannot guarantee a U.S. passport won’t be issued.¹² It’s an early warning, not a blockade.

A Custody Order That Restricts International Travel

The stronger protection is a court order that explicitly restricts international travel. The State Department advises asking your attorney to include specific language that either prohibits international travel or requires court approval for each trip.¹ A court can also order the child’s passport surrendered to the court or to the custodial parent between trips. Because the United States lacks routine exit controls, a court order is the only mechanism that can legally prevent your child from being taken out of the country.

Taking a Child Abroad Without Authorization Is a Federal Crime

A parent who removes a child from the United States, or keeps a child outside the country, with intent to interfere with the other parent’s custody rights commits a federal crime under the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act. The penalty is up to three years in federal prison, a fine, or both, and the statute applies to children under 16.¹³ The statute recognizes narrow defenses, including acting under a valid custody or visitation order and fleeing domestic violence. Outside those, taking a child abroad in violation of a custody arrangement is treated as a serious federal offense.

If a child is wrongfully taken to a country that participates in the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction, the Convention provides a legal framework for returning the child to their home country, on the principle that custody disputes belong in the courts of the country where the child normally lives.¹¹ If the child is taken to a non-signatory country, recovery becomes much harder, with no treaty obligation to cooperate and no standardized process to invoke. That difference is why the destination country weighs so heavily when a judge decides whether to approve international travel in the first place.

1
U.S. Department of State. Prevention Tips
2
U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Child’s Passport Under 16
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U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Children – Travel Documents for Infants
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USAGov. International Travel Documents for Children
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U.S. Department of State. Travel With Minors
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Government of Canada. Minor Children Travelling to Canada
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Embassy of Mexico. FAQ – Child Travel Alone
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U.S. Embassy in Brazil. Minors Traveling
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U.S. Department of State. Preparing Your Document for an Apostille Certificate
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U.S. Department of State. Important Features of the Hague Abduction Convention
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U.S. Department of State. Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1204 – International Parental Kidnapping