How to get a passport in Birmingham

Heading abroad soon? One of the most important steps is to have your passport ready to go — and it may even help you with domestic air travel. Here’s what you need to know about applying for one in Birmingham. 

Facilities in Birmingham that will help from start to finish

Getting a passport involves many steps and can be complicated, but there are plenty of official local services to help with the process. An appointment may be required, so be sure to read the fine print. Some additional fees may apply for services.

• Birmingham Public Libraries Passport Service
• Hoover Public Library Passport Appointments
• United States Postal Service Passport Appointments
• UAB Passport Office

A note about STAR ID

As of May 7, 2025, passengers on domestic flights are required to have a STAR ID (a.k.a. REAL ID).

If you don’t have the STAR, a valid U.S. passport will get you on your flight. You can also use some form of federally-accepted identification like:

• a foreign government-issued passport
• DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
• U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
• a permanent resident card
• a veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)

Tap here to learn more about the STAR ID and how to get one.

Cost and processing time

First things first: You should be prepared to front the costs for your new passport. These costs also apply to renewals.

A passport book is $130 and valid for all international travel by air, land and sea. 

A passport card is just $30, but it is only valid for return to the U.S. by land or sea from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean. 

There are no additional processing fees to wait the standard four to six weeks, but to get it in two to three weeks, that will cost you an extra $60. 

Standard delivery is via USPS Priority Mail and comes with no additional costs. 

One to two day delivery is an additional $22.05.

There is a required “execution fee” of $35.

Forms

You can use the official U.S. Dept. of State form filler tool to fill out the application on a computer. 

You can also print out the form and fill it out physically. 

Regardless, a physical copy of the filled-out form will need to be submitted with your application. The form CANNOT be double-sided and should be on standard 8.5” by 11” letter-sized paper. 

Photos

Passport applications require a physical copy of the applicant in front of a white background and taken in the last six months. 

Some stores or local passport services will take photos for passports:

• CVS
• Staples
• Walgreens
• Birmingham Public Libraries Passport Service
• United States Postal Service Passport Appointments
• UAB Passport Office

Information about requirements can be found here, but here are the basics: 

• Image should be clear, represent skin tones accurately and have no shadows
• Head should be centered within the 2” x 2” photo and sized between 1” and 1.4” 
• Photo should be sharp without any visible pixels or printer dots
• Print should be on quality glossy or matte paper
• No digital changes can be made, including artificially removing a background
• Applicant should be directly facing the camera with a neutral expression and eyes clearly visible
• Applicant cannot wear hats or head coverings except for religious or medical purposes
• Full face must be visible
• Background must be white or off-white with no shadows, textures, objects or lines
• Children must also be in front of a plain white background and facing the camera with eyes open (infants’ eyes do not have to be entirely open)

Required documents

An important step in the passport application process is ensuring you have the appropriate documents. Here is what is required. 

To prove U.S. citizenship, you need one of the following:

• A birth certificate
  • Shows the seal or stamp from the city, county, or state of birth which issued it; the applicant’s full name, date of birth, place of birth; your parent(s)’ full names; the date filed with registrar’s office (must be within one year of birth); and the registrar’s signature.
• Undamaged U.S. passport
  • Passport must have been valid for 10 years for adults and 5 years for children under 16.
• Consular Report of Birth Abroad or any birth document issued by the U.S. Department of State
• Certificate of Naturalization or Citizenship

You will also need to provide a photocopy of the front and back of your photo ID. This can be one of the following: 

• Valid or expired, undamaged U.S. passport book or passport card 
• In-state, fully-valid driver’s license or enhanced driver’s license with photo
• Certificate of Naturalization 
• Certificate of Citizenship 
• Government employee ID (city, county, state, or federal)
• U.S. military or military dependent ID
• Current (valid) foreign passport
• Matricula Consular (Mexican Consular ID) – commonly used by a parent of a U.S. citizen child applicant
• U.S. Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) – commonly used by a parent of a U.S. citizen child applicant
• Trusted Traveler IDs (including valid Global Entry, FAST, SENTRI, and NEXUS cards)
• Enhanced Tribal Cards and Native American tribal photo IDs

If you cannot present one of the IDs above, you have to submit two of the following: 

• Out-of-state driver’s license or enhanced driver’s license with photo
• Learner’s or temporary driver’s permit (without a photo)
• In-state, fully valid non-driver ID (without a photo)
• Out-of-state, non-driver ID
• Temporary driver’s license (without a photo)
• Social Security card
• Voter registration card
• Employee work ID
• Student ID
• School yearbook with identifiable photograph
• Selective Service (draft) card
• Medicare or other health card
• Expired driver’s license