A minor travel consent letter is a signed statement from a parent — or both parents — giving permission for a child to travel with one parent, a grandparent, another relative or a family friend, or alone. In El Paso it is the document families ask us for most: a child crossing the Bridge of the Americas or the Ysleta–Zaragoza bridge to spend the weekend with the grandparents in Ciudad Juárez, a teenager flying to visit a parent stationed away from Fort Bliss, a niece joining a quinceañera trip to Chihuahua, a church or school group heading to the coast. The DS-3053 belongs to the same family: it is the U.S. Department of State form one parent signs when the other cannot appear in person to apply for a child's passport.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection recommends that a child under 18 who is not traveling with both parents carry a letter from the absent parent — or from both parents when the child travels with someone else — and suggests that the letter be notarized. Airlines, cruise lines and Mexican authorities may ask for the same letter, and if a Mexican government office will rely on it, it may also need an apostille. For the DS-3053 the rule is firm: the parent who is not applying signs it in front of a notary, attaches a photocopy of the ID shown to the notary, and the passport agency must receive it within 90 days of notarization. Our notary identifies you with unexpired photo ID, watches you sign, and completes the acknowledgment or jurat certificate on the document.
Booking is simple. Text or call (915) 302-0902, tell us what you are signing and where you are — your home in Horizon City, your office downtown, a hospital room, a coffee shop near UTEP — and we confirm the fee: $10 for the first notarized signature and $1 for each additional signature on the same letter, plus a nominal $39 travel fee anywhere in El Paso County. Have the finished letter and your photo ID ready; the child does not need to be present, and both parents can sign at the same visit or at separate ones. The signing takes about 15 minutes. We cannot write the letter or tell you what it should say — we notarize the letter you bring. There is no official CBP form; the DS-3053 is downloaded free from travel.state.gov.
Documents we notarize
- Minor Travel Consent Letter — child traveling with one parent
- Minor Travel Consent Letter — child traveling with a grandparent, relative or family friend
- Parental Consent to Travel to Mexico
- Consent for a Minor to Travel Alone (unaccompanied minor)
- DS-3053 Statement of Consent — passport for a child under 16
- Temporary Guardianship / Authorization for Medical Treatment of a Minor
- School Field-Trip and Sports Consent Forms
- Authorization for a Grandparent to Care for a Child
- Consent letters for airlines, cruise lines and youth group trips
- Consent letters to be apostilled for use before Mexican authorities
El Paso specifics: the bridges, the passport agency and children with Mexican nationality
Most of the consent letters we notarize are carried across the Paso del Norte, Stanton, Bridge of the Americas and Ysleta–Zaragoza bridges, often the same weekend. CBP's guidance describes a short statement that the absent parent knows about the trip and gives permission, with a way to reach that parent; the letters we see also carry the child's full legal name as it appears on the birth certificate, date of birth, the traveling adult's name and relationship, the destination and the travel dates, and many families attach a copy of the birth certificate. A version in Spanish helps when the letter will be shown in Mexico. Because current CBP rules let U.S. citizen children under 16 arriving by land from Mexico present a birth certificate rather than a passport, the letter frequently travels with that certificate.
For passports, routine applications for children under 16 go through acceptance facilities such as El Paso post offices, with both parents present or a notarized DS-3053 from the one who cannot come; the El Paso Passport Agency downtown handles urgent-travel appointments. If the other parent lives out of state or is deployed, two paths exist: they can sign a DS-3053 before a notary where they are, or sign by video with our Texas online notary commission — the State Department accepts an electronically notarized DS-3053 when state law allows it, as Texas does, provided you submit a printed copy. If the child is a Mexican national, Mexico has its own rules for minors leaving Mexico without their parents; the Consulate of Mexico in El Paso can explain them before you travel.
Common mistakes that get a consent letter or DS-3053 rejected
With the DS-3053, the wrong parent signs — only the parent who will not be at the passport appointment signs it, and a parent with sole legal authority does not use the form at all but submits the court order instead. Other frequent problems: no photocopy of the front and back of the ID shown to the notary; a form notarized months before the family gets around to applying, past the 90-day window; blank fields, which a notary cannot notarize; and a form signed in advance instead of in front of the notary. A related form, the DS-5525, is used when the other parent cannot be located; it is not notarized, so you will not need us for it.
With consent letters, the usual failures are a letter with no notarial certificate — no place for the notary's signature and seal — so we attach the Texas statutory certificate wording and ask whether you want an acknowledgment or a jurat (we can describe both, but the choice is yours or your recipient's); a child's name that does not match the birth certificate; an expired ID; and corrections made with white-out. Only the signer's identity and signature are notarized, never the truth of the trip details, so double-check dates and passport numbers before we arrive.
What to bring
- Unexpired government photo ID for each signing parent — Texas driver license or ID, U.S. or Mexican passport, matrícula consular or military ID
- The completed consent letter with the child's full name and date of birth, travel dates, destination and the traveling adult's name — unsigned if it contains a sworn statement
- For the DS-3053: the form filled out but not signed, plus a photocopy of the front and back of the ID you will show the notary
- Both parents if both will sign, or a plan for the second parent to sign at a separate visit or online
- A copy of the child's birth certificate or passport to travel with the letter (not needed for the notarization itself)
- Payment for the notarial fee and the $39 travel fee — ask about accepted methods when booking
How a mobile appointment works
Text or call to book
Text or call (915) 302-0902 with the type of letter, how many parents are signing, your address in El Paso County and when you need it — before an early bridge crossing or a flight out of El Paso International. We confirm the statutory fee and the $39 travel fee up front.
We come to you
Your notary arrives at your home, office or hospital room, checks each signer's unexpired photo ID, watches you sign and completes the notarial certificate on the letter or the DS-3053. The child does not need to be present, and the visit takes about 15 minutes.
Signed, sealed, ready to travel
Make copies. The traveling adult carries the notarized original with the child's birth certificate or passport; for the DS-3053, attach the ID photocopy and apply within 90 days. If a Mexican office will use the letter, ask us about an apostille from the Texas Secretary of State.