If You Owe Child Support Your Passports Could Be Revoked, Restricted, or Limited
Written by Tariq on May 11, 2026
The U.S. State Department will begin revoking the passports of Americans who owe “significant child support debt.” The department issued a notice on May 7 stating that federal regulations do not allow people who owe more than $2,500 in unpaid child support to be issued a passport and that it may revoke your valid passport. “Notices about passport revocations will be sent from the Department of State directly to the passport holder via email or to the mailing address provided on the most recent passport application,” the State Department said in the notice posted to its website.
According to reporting from The Associated Press, the department begin revocations on Friday, May 8, and be focused on those who owe $100,000 or more. The revocation plan, however, will soon be “greatly expanded” to cover parents who owe more than $2,500. The $2,500 threshold was established by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996. According to the New York Times, the law included a provision that the State Department be notified of people with delinquent child support debts and stated the secretary of state could “revoke, restrict, or limit” a previously-issued passport.
“Under President Trump, the Department of State is using commonsense tools to support American families and strengthen compliance with U.S. laws,” the department said in a May 7 news release. “This includes preventing those who owe substantial amounts of court-ordered child support from neglecting their legal and moral obligations to their children.”
Source: USA Today
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