Minor travel consent form: what the letter says and when it's asked for

What is a minor travel consent form?

A minor travel consent form, also called a travel consent letter for a minor, a child travel consent form or an authorization to travel with a minor, is a signed statement from the people with legal custody of a child that the child may travel internationally without them. It names the child, the adult the child travels with, the destination and the dates.

There is no official U.S. government form. USAGov gives one sentence of model wording: "I acknowledge that my child is traveling outside the country with [the name of the adult] with my permission." The letter covers one trip; it is not passport consent (Form DS-3053), not a custody document and not consent to medical care.

When is a travel consent letter for a minor asked for, and by whom?

A destination country, a border officer or an airline may ask for it; U.S. law does not require it. The State Department puts it this way:

"The United States does not require evidence of both parents' permission for a minor to travel internationally, but some countries do."

What does a child travel consent form include?

The CBP guidance on U.S. embassy websites lists what the letter must state: the child's name and birth date; the names of the adults with legal custody and their contact information; the name of each adult traveling with the child and their relation to the child; the purpose of the trip; the dates of travel; and the countries and cities.

Letters commonly add the child's passport number and an emergency contact; the notary's certificate goes after the signatures.

What does a sample travel consent letter for a minor look like?

The wording below is a general sample, not a letter for any particular family. Square brackets mark what each family fills in. It follows the CBP list and the USAGov sentence.

Date: [date]

To whom it may concern:

We, [full name of parent 1] and [full name of parent 2], are the parents of [child's full name], born [date of birth], who travels on [country] passport number [passport number].

We consent to [child's first name] traveling to [country or countries] with [full name of the accompanying adult], the child's [relationship, for example grandmother], from [departure date] to [return date], for [purpose, for example visiting family].

We acknowledge that our child is traveling outside the country with [name of the accompanying adult] with our permission.

Parent 1: [address], [phone]. Parent 2: [address], [phone]. Accompanying adult: [address], [phone]. Flights: [airline and flight numbers, if known].

In an emergency during the trip, please contact [name], [phone], [relationship to the child].

Signature of parent 1: ____________________ Date: __________

Signature of parent 2: ____________________ Date: __________

[Notary's certificate]

Sample letter of consent to travel with one parent

When the child travels with one parent, USAGov says the letter comes from the other parent, the one who is not traveling. The consent paragraph then reads:

I, [full name], am the [mother/father] of [child's full name], born [date of birth]. I consent to [child's first name] traveling to [country] with [his/her] [father/mother], [full name], from [departure date] to [return date]. I acknowledge that my child is traveling outside the country with [name of the traveling parent] with my permission. I can be reached at [phone] and [address].

Sole custody, a parent who has died, or a parent who cannot be reached

When only one parent signs because of a sole custody order or the other parent's death, or when that parent travels with the child, CBP guidance asks for papers:

"CBP recommends that single parents also provide documentary proof that there is no other parent of the child (only one parent stated on birth certificate, single adoption, parent death, sole custody, etc.)"

When the child travels with another adult, the letter commonly adds: "A copy of [the custody order / the other parent's death certificate] is attached." A single parent traveling with the child does not write a letter to themselves; they carry those papers. Whether that is enough is up to the destination and the airline; unclear custody is a question for a family-law attorney.

When the other parent is absent or cannot be reached and that parent's signature cannot be obtained, only one parent signs, and the letter does not show that this parent has sole authority. Detention or deportation does not by itself mean that a parent cannot sign. When one parent signs for that reason, the RightForms letter lists documents to consider carrying: any custody order the parent has, or the birth certificate if it lists only one parent, and the destination and the airline decide whether that is enough. For a U.S. passport, the DS-3053 instructions let the applying parent submit Form DS-5525 or a written statement, made under penalty of perjury, explaining why the other parent cannot be reached (see the DS-3053 section below). Whether one parent may take the child abroad in this situation is a question for a family-law attorney.

Signed, not sworn

Some letters end with a declaration under penalty of perjury. The RightForms letter does not: no U.S. law or CBP guidance that RightForms found asks for this letter to be sworn. Each signer writes the date and place of signing and signs, and a California notary's acknowledgment follows. What the letter says must still be true: knowingly making a materially false statement to a U.S. border officer is a federal crime (18 U.S.C. §1001). The letter warns against signing while any destination or date is blank, so that no one can complete a signed letter afterwards.

Can I write my own or handwrite a child travel consent form?

Yes. No U.S. agency issues or requires a particular form, so a parent can type or handwrite the letter; the government sources describe content, English (preferred by USAGov) and often notarization, not a format. A letter is easier to check when names match the passports, every date and country is filled in, and the right people have signed.

Does a minor travel consent form need to be notarized?

No U.S. regulation requires a notarized letter, but CBP highly advises it and some countries require it:

"There is no regulation that requires the authorization letter to be notarized. However, CBP highly advises this, because notarization is proof that the Notary has identified the person(s) signing the letter as being the actual parent(s) or legal guardian(s)."

A "notarized letter for minor travel" is this same letter with a notary's certificate attached; the notary confirms who signed, not that the signer is the child's parent or has custody, and not whether the letter is true or sufficient.

Acknowledgment or jurat?

The RightForms letter ends with California's acknowledgment certificate, which opens with the notice the statute requires:

A notary public or other officer completing this certificate verifies only the identity of the individual who signed the document to which this certificate is attached, and not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of that document.

An acknowledgment does not put the signer under oath; a jurat does, because the notary administers the oath (Gov. Code §8202). Form DS-3053, for example, is "signed and sworn under oath". If a destination or airline asks for a sworn statement, its consulate or the airline says what it expects.

Apostille and translation

Some destination countries require an apostille (countries party to the Hague Apostille Convention) or consular legalization; the destination's consulate says which. In California, the Secretary of State issues the apostille for documents used outside the United States. It authenticates the signature and seal of the official, such as the notary, not the contents of the letter. A destination may also ask for a translation.

How is a travel consent letter notarized, and what do signers bring?

1. Every name, date and destination is filled in first. Every parent or guardian who signs appears before the notary; the RightForms instructions have each one sign there. Parents in different places each sign before a notary where they are, and each notary certifies only the people who appeared before them.
2. Each signer brings identification the notary can rely on under Civil Code §1185, current or issued within the last five years, such as a California driver's license or ID card or a U.S. passport. The statute also lists a consular ID or passport from the signer's country of citizenship and another state's or Mexico's driver's license, if the document shows a photo, a description of the person, a signature and a serial number; not every foreign document does, and the notary decides. A signer without one may be identified by credible witnesses under oath, under conditions the statute sets.
3. California caps the notary's fee for an acknowledgment at $15 for each signature taken (Gov. Code §8211(a)).
4. The signed original travels with the child, with a copy of the child's birth certificate or other evidence of the relationship (State Department) and, for a single parent, a custody order or death certificate (CBP guidance).

Is a travel consent letter the same as passport form DS-3053?

No. Form DS-3053 is consent to issue a U.S. passport to a child; a travel consent letter is consent to a trip. One does not replace the other.

Under 22 CFR 51.28, both parents execute the passport application for a child under 16, who appears in person, unless the applying parent provides the other's notarized consent or evidence of sole custody; exigent or special family circumstances are raised with Form DS-5525 or a written statement.

Can a child travel internationally with only one parent?

The United States does not require evidence of both parents' permission for a child to travel internationally, but that does not settle whether one parent may take the child abroad: the destination country, a custody order, a family-court case, the other parent's custody rights, which can exist even without a court order, and any visitation order can all matter, and a U.S. passport for a child under 16 generally needs both parents, with exceptions in 22 CFR 51.28 such as the other parent's notarized consent (DS-3053), evidence of sole custody or a qualifying court order, and exigent or special family circumstances. In general:

• Destination countries may require a notarized letter from the other parent or proof of sole legal custody (State Department).
• Custody orders can contain travel terms; the passport rule itself refers to court orders with "travel restrictions".
• A pending California family case: in a divorce, legal separation or annulment, the summons (form FL-110) carries standard restraining orders barring both parties from removing their minor children from the state, or applying for a new or replacement passport for them, without the other's prior written consent or a court order (Fam. Code §2040); in a parentage case, the summons bars all parties from removing the child from the state without that consent or an order (Fam. Code §7700).
• Criminal law: taking, keeping or concealing a child and maliciously depriving a lawful custodian of custody, or a person of visitation, is a crime in California (Penal Code §278.5); removing a child under 16 from the United States, or keeping the child abroad, with intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights, including visiting rights, is a federal crime (18 U.S.C. §1204). Both laws cover custody or parental rights that exist by operation of law, without any court order (Penal Code §277; 18 U.S.C. §1204(b)(2)).

Can a mother take a child out of the country without the father's permission in the USA?

No single U.S. rule answers that. U.S. exit rules do not ask for the other parent's permission, but the other parent's custody rights (which can exist without a court order), any visitation order, a pending family case, the destination's rules and abduction laws can bear on it, depending on the facts; the same holds when the father travels. A parent worried that a child may be taken abroad without consent can contact the State Department's Office of Children's Issues prevention team (1-888-407-4747) or enroll a U.S. citizen child under 18 in the Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program, which alerts the enrolling parent when someone applies for a U.S. passport for the child.

Do both parents need to sign a travel consent form?

USAGov's general guidance: with one custodial parent traveling, the other parent signs; with a guardian or alone, both parents sign. Whether one signature is enough in a given case depends on the destination and on custody. The RightForms questionnaire matches the number of signers to the chosen consent scenario (two for both parents, one for a one-parent scenario, one or two for legal guardians); that software rule decides who signs this letter, not whose consent the law requires.

Can a child travel abroad with grandparents or another adult?

Yes. CBP guidance recommends a letter when a child travels with a relative or another adult, and the State Department says some countries require a notarized permission letter from the parents when a child travels with someone who is not a parent or legal guardian. The letter names the adult and their relationship to the child. For a Mexican-national child leaving Mexico with a grandparent, Mexico's exit rule below also applies.

Is a consent letter needed to take a child to Mexico?

U.S. law does not require one for leaving the United States, though CBP guidance recommends a letter when a child travels without both parents. For leaving Mexico, Mexico asks for a parents' permission or its SAM form only for certain children (Mexican nationals and foreign residents of Mexico) who leave alone or with an adult who is not their parent or legal guardian; INM says the SAM is not needed when the child leaves with one parent. Entering Mexico and airline policies are separate questions this page does not cover; the Mexican consulate and the airline say what they ask for. These rules come from Mexican government sources and change.

Who Mexico's exit rule covers

INM lists children of Mexican nationality, including dual nationals, and foreign children with permanent, temporary or temporary-student residence in Mexico. Its exemption is for foreign children in Mexico as visitors (tourists); INM lists no vacation exemption for Mexican nationals. Under Article 30 of Mexico's Constitution, a child born abroad to a Mexican mother or father is Mexican by birth, so a child born in the United States can be a Mexican national whether or not the family holds Mexican documents for the child. RightForms cannot tell whether this applies to a particular child.

What is Mexico's SAM form?

The SAM ("Formato de Salida de Menores") is the exit form of Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM). Article 42 of Mexico's Migration Law Regulation gives the two routes: an authorization by the persons with parental authority given before a notary (fedatario público), or a document issued by an authority empowered to do so, which may be on INM's form. According to INM's SAM page (July 30, 2026):

• it is completed online, then validated and stamped by INM at an INM office or the departure point; without that the child cannot leave Mexico;
• it is valid for six months, for one trip, with one form per child per trip, and it carries a government fee (INM's page shows the current amount);
• with a third adult, a parent or that adult can do the process; when the adult does it, INM's page says the adult presents a parent's authorization, given before a notary, to carry out the process;
• a notarial or judicial permission is also presented to INM, with copies, for registration.

A permission signed in the United States

Article 42 says documents granted abroad must be legalized or apostilled and translated if not in Spanish. Mexico is a party to the Apostille Convention (HCCH); for a document notarized in California, the apostille comes from the California Secretary of State. Mexican law also lets heads of consular offices authenticate authorizations given by the persons with parental authority over a minor, signed in their consular district and meant to take effect in Mexico (Reglamento de la Ley del Servicio Exterior Mexicano, art. 87); the apostille and translation rule of Article 42 is written for documents granted abroad, and we could not confirm how any consulate applies it, so the consulate is the place to ask. An English letter signed before a California notary is not the SAM and not a Mexican notarial permission, and RightForms cannot say whether Mexican officials or an airline will accept it for a child leaving Mexico.

Passports and the way back

Mexico's Foreign Ministry says a Mexican child with another nationality should always enter and leave Mexico on a Mexican passport (SRE); the State Department says U.S. citizens must enter the United States on their U.S. passport. CBP says U.S. citizens, including infants and children, departing from or entering the United States by air need a valid U.S. passport to board an international flight (a NEXUS card works only at NEXUS kiosks when departing from designated Canadian airports); U.S. citizen children 15 and under arriving by land or sea from Canada or Mexico can present a U.S. birth certificate (original or copy), a Consular Report of Birth Abroad or a Naturalization Certificate. Mexico sets its own entry requirements, which this page does not cover. A child who is not a U.S. citizen needs their own documents, such as a passport or visa, to enter the United States; a consent letter is not an immigration document. For a child with a pending immigration case or application, or without lawful status, leaving the United States can affect the case or the child's return; for example, leaving while a green-card (adjustment of status) application is pending, without advance parole, is generally treated as abandoning it (8 CFR 245.2(a)(4)(ii)). That is a question for an immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative before the trip.

Does the travel letter let the adult make medical decisions?

No. A travel consent letter is consent to travel, and the RightForms letter contains no consent to medical treatment. In California, a parent can authorize in writing an adult into whose care a child has been entrusted to consent to the child's medical or dental care (Family Code §6910); the medical consent form for a minor guide explains who signs it. That is a California-law document, and a hospital abroad applies its own rules.

How long is a travel consent letter good for?

No U.S. rule sets an expiration date; the letter covers the trip it describes, and the RightForms letter says so. Related documents have their own limits:

What are common mistakes with a minor travel consent letter?

• Carrying Form DS-3053 as if it were a travel letter, or the reverse.
• A letter signed by the parent who travels instead of the parent who is not traveling.
• Signing with blank dates or destinations, or names that differ from the passports.
• Treating the letter as a substitute for Mexico's SAM or a court order.
• Forgetting that a child who is not a U.S. citizen needs their own documents to come back.

What does the RightForms travel consent letter include?

RightForms prepares the Child International Travel Consent Letter from a questionnaire; the PDF is in English. The order produces the letter and a separate instruction sheet the family keeps (DS-3053, Mexico's exit rule when the destination is Mexico or left blank, apostille, notarization steps). The letter covers up to six children, one or two consenting parents or legal guardians and one or two accompanying adults, and ends with a “Signed on” line (date and place), signature lines and a California notary acknowledgment. Trip details left blank are filled in by hand, in ink, before signing and before the notary acts, as the instruction sheet says; the letter itself prints a reminder not to sign while any trip detail is blank. A free route exists too: the sample above, signed before a notary public. How RightForms works explains the questionnaire and the PDF.

For planning around a parent's absence at home, see the family preparedness plan guide; for a child already living with a caregiver in California, the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit, signed by the caregiver once the child lives with them, covers school enrollment and medical care (only school-related medical care when the caregiver is not a relative), not travel.

What this page does not answer

• Whether one parent may take a child abroad in a particular case, contested custody, or the effect of an existing custody, family-court or juvenile-court order: a family-law attorney; see the court self-help center's child custody section and the legal aid directory at LawHelpCA.
• A child's or parent's immigration status or re-entry to the United States: an immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative.
• The destination country's entry and exit rules (its embassy or consulate), and whether Mexico's SAM applies to a particular child (INM or a Mexican consulate).
• Airline policies, medical decisions abroad, and other states' notary rules.