Different Kinds of U.S. Passports: Books, Cards, Diplomatic

The United States issues several types of U.S. passports, and which one fits you depends on who you are, where you’re going, and whether the trip is personal or on government business. Most travelers only ever need the regular blue passport book. But the State Department also produces a wallet-sized passport card, a second book for frequent flyers, maroon official and black diplomatic passports for federal personnel, no-fee passports for specific groups, and emergency documents for citizens stuck abroad. Non-citizens living in the U.S. have their own set of travel documents issued by USCIS. Every U.S. passport remains federal property and must be returned to the government on demand.¹

Regular Passport Book

The blue-cover regular passport book is the standard travel document. Any U.S. citizen or non-citizen national can hold one, and it works for air, land, and sea travel to any country that will admit you. Adults 16 and older get a book valid for ten years. Children under 16 get one valid for five, because a young child’s appearance changes too fast for a decade-old photo to be useful at a border.²

First-time adult applicants pay a $130 application fee plus a $35 execution fee collected by the acceptance facility, totaling $165. Renewals by mail cost $130 with no execution fee. Children under 16 pay a $100 application fee plus the $35 execution fee.³ Expedited processing adds $60.⁴ Routine processing runs four to six weeks; expedited takes two to three. Neither timeframe includes mailing, which can add up to two more weeks in each direction.⁵

Passport Card

The passport card is a plastic, wallet-sized alternative to the book. Anyone eligible for a regular passport can get one, and it costs far less: $30 for an adult renewal and $15 for a minor, plus the $35 execution fee when applying in person for the first time.³ Validity matches the book: ten years for adults, five for children under 16.

The tradeoff is scope. The card only works for land and sea border crossings between the United States and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.² You cannot board an international flight with a card, even one heading to a country on that list.⁶ For domestic flights, TSA accepts it as REAL ID-compliant identification.⁷

Second Passport Book

Frequent international travelers can hold a second valid passport book alongside their first. This helps when your primary book is sitting at a foreign embassy waiting for a visa and you need to travel somewhere else in the meantime. It also matters when stamps in your primary passport would cause another destination to deny you entry, such as Israeli stamps when visiting certain Middle Eastern countries.⁸

You must already hold a valid U.S. passport book to qualify. The second book is valid for only four years rather than ten and carries a special endorsement code distinguishing it from your primary book.⁸ You apply by mail if you can submit your current passport, or in person at an acceptance facility if you need to keep your current book while you travel.

Official, Diplomatic, and Service Passports

Three passport types exist specifically for people traveling on behalf of the federal government. None can be used for personal trips, and applicants don’t choose which one they receive. The State Department assigns the type based on the traveler’s role.

Official Passport

The maroon-cover official passport goes to federal employees, personal services contractors, and state or local officials traveling abroad to carry out duties for the U.S. government. Eligible family members can also receive one.² The issuing federal agency must authorize the passport, and it’s valid only for official travel.

Diplomatic Passport

The black-cover diplomatic passport goes to Foreign Service officers and others with diplomatic or comparable status traveling abroad for diplomatic duties. The State Department can also authorize diplomatic passports for spouses, family members, and certain government contractors who meet the eligibility rules.²

Service Passport

The least common of the three, the gray-cover service passport is issued in exceptional circumstances to non-personal services contractors who need to travel abroad on a government contract and can’t do so with a regular passport.⁹ The “exceptional circumstances” bar makes these rare.

No-Fee Regular Passports

Certain groups get a standard blue-cover passport book without paying the usual fees. The book looks like any other but contains an endorsement noting the holder’s travel status. Applicants who qualify skip the application and execution fees. The State Department issues no-fee passports to:¹⁰

Peace Corps volunteers, authorized under the Peace Corps Act to receive no-fee passports for service abroad.
American National Red Cross staff and their dependents traveling on assignment for the U.S. armed forces.
Individuals traveling on Department of Defense orders, including professional entertainers, clergy, sports personnel, and military athletes.
Next of kin traveling to visit seriously ill or injured service members stationed abroad.
Immediate relatives of deceased service members buried overseas, when traveling with support from the American Battle Monuments Commission.

Emergency Passports

If you’re stranded abroad without a valid passport, a U.S. embassy or consulate can issue a purple-cover emergency passport valid for one year or less. These are reserved for situations where you need to return to the United States as soon as possible, such as replacing a lost or stolen passport overseas or handling a life-or-death emergency.¹¹ Once you’re home, replace the emergency document with a full-validity passport book.

Travel Documents for Non-Citizens

Non-citizens living in the United States sometimes need a document that plays the same role as a passport. These are issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rather than the State Department.

Refugee Travel Document

If you have refugee or asylee status, you need a refugee travel document to leave the country and return without jeopardizing your protected status. USCIS issues these to refugees, asylees, and lawful permanent residents who got their green cards through the refugee or asylum process.¹² Leaving without one is risky: you may be unable to re-enter or could be placed in removal proceedings. The document is issued on Form I-571 and serves as both identity verification and proof of your right to return.¹³

Reentry Permit

Lawful permanent residents planning to stay outside the country for an extended period should apply for a reentry permit before leaving. Without one, an absence of more than a year can lead the government to conclude you’ve abandoned your permanent resident status. You apply on Form I-131, and the permit is typically valid for two years, though USCIS may limit it to one year if you’ve already spent more than four of the past five years abroad.¹⁴

Advance Parole

Certain non-citizens with pending immigration applications can request advance parole to travel internationally and return. This is common for people with a pending green card application (Form I-485) who need to leave temporarily. You apply through Form I-131. Advance parole is not a guarantee of admission: a customs officer still makes a separate decision about whether to let you in. If you leave the country without advance parole while your adjustment application is pending, USCIS generally treats the application as abandoned.¹⁴

When a Passport Can Be Denied or Revoked

Citizenship alone doesn’t guarantee you’ll receive or keep a passport. Federal law gives the State Department broad authority to deny, revoke, or restrict a passport in a range of circumstances.¹ Two common financial triggers catch people off guard.

Owing more than $2,500 in past-due child support gets an application denied and can lead to revocation of an existing passport. State child support agencies certify the debt to the federal government, and the State Department is required to refuse issuance once it receives that certification.¹⁵ Seriously delinquent federal tax debt does the same. The IRS certifies your debt to the State Department when it exceeds an inflation-adjusted threshold (around $66,000 in 2026, up from a $50,000 statutory base), and once the debt has progressed to a filed tax lien or an issued levy.¹⁶

The State Department can also deny a passport if you’re the subject of an outstanding federal or state felony warrant, a court order barring you from leaving the country, a subpoena in a federal felony case, or an extradition request from a foreign government. People declared legally incompetent by a court or subject to a military restraint order face the same restriction. Registered sex offenders can still receive a passport, but it must carry a conspicuous identifier placed by the State Department.¹⁷

1
eCFR. 22 CFR Part 51 – Passports
2
GovInfo. 22 CFR 51.3 – Types of Passports
3
U.S. Department of State. United States Passport Fees
4
U.S. Department of State. Passport Fees
5
U.S. Department of State. How to Get My U.S. Passport Fast
6
U.S. Department of State. U.S. Passports and REAL ID
7
Transportation Security Administration. Acceptable Identification at the TSA Checkpoint
8
U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Second Passport Book
9
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.3 – Types of Passports
10
U.S. Department of State. Steps to Apply for a Special Issuance Passport
11
U.S. Department of State. Replace a Limited-Validity Passport
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Travel Documents
13
U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 9 FAM 203.7 – Refugee Travel Documents
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 652 – Duties of Secretary
16
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 7345 – Revocation or Denial of Passport in Case of Certain Tax Delinquencies
17
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.60 – Denial and Restriction of Passports