Thousands Of Americans Could Suddenly Lose Their Passports Over This Debt

Some American parents could soon face an unexpected barrier to traveling abroad, tied not to where they go, but to issues at home. The new obstacle has nothing to do with airport security or visa rules, but rather unpaid child support debt. On May 7, 2026, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued a press release stating that it will start revoking or denying U.S. passports to those who owe "significant outstanding child support debt." The threshold for what counts as "significant" was stated to be more than $2,500, though the department told the Associated Press (AP) it would initially target those whose child support debt is over $100,000 — and there are close to 3,000 American citizens who meet that threshold.

The policy isn't a new law created by the DOS. In fact, it goes back to an act passed in 1996, which established the Child Support Enforcement Passport Denial Program. As a means of pressuring debtors to pay back past-due support, the act allows the government to revoke, deny, or limit debtors' passports. However, according to the AP, the law hasn't been enforced much up to now. Its main form of use in previous years has been denying a new passport when someone with significant debt tried to renew one, with around 100 passport renewal applications denied daily for this reason, according to The New York Times. Now, the DOS will begin actively revoking passports of debtors on what its press release called "an unprecedented scale."

Your travel plans might unravel quickly, especially close to departure, if you owe significant child support debt and your passport is at risk of being revoked. A couple of things might happen, depending on what stage of acquiring a passport you're in. If you're applying for a new passport and the DOS system flags you as owing over $2,500 in child support, the department will give you 90 days to settle the debt before ultimately denying the application. If you're renewing or updating a passport (such as changing a name or adding pages), the DOS can revoke the passport once it's in its physical possession. (You may want to give yourself extra time to renew your passport in case any outstanding issues need to be settled before it's cleared.)

For those who currently hold an unexpired passport and owe child support debt, it becomes a little unclear what will happen to the passport. Previously, the DOS had to be in possession of the passport to revoke it, but the new enforcement suggests revocation can happen even while the holder still has the passport. The AP reported that affected debtors will get a notification that their passports are no longer valid for travel and can only apply for a new passport after their debts are resolved. If you're abroad or have an emergency when this happens, you will be able to get an emergency travel document. In the event that your passport gets revoked, there are still some Caribbean islands Americans can visit without a passport. Otherwise, you may have to deal with some non-refundable flights and lost hotel reservations.