Where to Apply for a Passport in Freehold, NJ

Hours and appointment rules change, so call before you drive over. Post offices in Marlboro, Howell and Englishtown also take passport applications. The State Department's online acceptance facility search lists every location near you.

We'd rather tell you that up front than have you find out at the counter.

Here's what we can do. Most people who get turned away at a passport appointment get turned away for something small: a photo that doesn't meet the rules, no photocopy of their ID, the wrong form, or a missing parent's consent. All four of those, we handle. Stop here first, then go to your appointment with everything done.

All of those use Form DS-11, and you apply at an acceptance facility like the ones above.

If none of those apply to you, you probably don't need an appointment at all. See the renewal question below.

The full list:

• Proof of citizenship. Usually your US birth certificate, the original with the raised or stamped seal. An old US passport or naturalization certificate also works. They keep it and mail it back separately.
• A photocopy of that document. On plain 8.5 x 11 paper, one side only.
• Your photo ID. Usually a driver's license.
• A photocopy of the front and back of your ID. Same paper rule: 8.5 x 11, single-sided.
• One passport photo. Don't staple it to anything.
• Form DS-11, filled out but not signed. You sign it in front of the passport agent. People sign it at home all the time, and then they have to fill out a new one.
• Payment. You'll make two separate payments: one to the US Department of State, by check or money order, and one to the facility.

The photocopy rule is where people get stuck. The copy has to be on a full letter-size sheet, one side per page. A copy of the front and back squeezed onto one side, or a phone photo, won't be accepted. We make these copies at our counter in a couple of minutes, the right size, the right way. We also print the DS-11 if you don't have a printer.

This is the one that sends families home. Both parents have to be there, in person, with the child. If one parent is at work, out of state or deployed, they fill out Form DS-3053 and sign it in front of a notary.

To notarize it with us:

• The parent who can't go to the appointment comes in with their photo ID.
• Don't sign the form ahead of time. They sign it in front of us.
• We notarize it on the spot. No appointment, any time we're open.
• We copy the front and back of the ID they showed us. That copy has to go with the form.

The other parent brings the notarized DS-3053 and the ID copy to the child's appointment. The State Department wants the form submitted within 90 days of the notary date, so don't do it too early.

If one parent has sole custody, the rules are different. Bring the custody paperwork to the appointment instead. More on what to bring to a notary is in our notary checklist.

No appointment needed. You mail the form, your old passport, one photo and a check to the State Department.

The State Department says to send renewals by USPS, not by other carriers, and to use a service with tracking. That's something we do every day. Bring the envelope to our counter and we'll send it by USPS with tracking so you can watch it get there. We can also print the DS-82 for you.

Some people can renew online instead. You have to be 25 or older, your passport has to be a 10-year passport that expired less than 5 years ago or expires within the next year, and you can't be traveling for at least 6 weeks. You'll need a digital photo for that one.

We take the photo, check it on screen with you before we print, and cut it to size. Wear a plain shirt, and not a white one, since the background is white. No glasses. See the full passport photo requirements or our passport photo page.

Add a week or two on each end for the mail. If you have a trip booked, apply as early as you can and pay for expedited if the dates are close.

If you have to travel within three days for a life-or-death emergency, call the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778. They book appointments at the regional passport agencies in New York, Philadelphia and Connecticut.