The U.S. State Department has ordered a
subset of public libraries across the country to stop processing passport
applications. In many communities, this new mandate disrupts a service that
people have relied on for years.
Over the past few
months, certain not-for-profit libraries nationwide have received
cease-and-desist letters informing them that they can no longer accept passport
applications under the federal Passport Acceptance Facility program, effective February
13, 2026.
“We still get
calls daily seeking that service,” said Cathleen Special, executive director of
the Otis Library in Norwich, Connecticut, which provided passport services for
18 years before ending the program in November. “Our community was so used to
us offering this.”
A State Department
spokesperson told AP
News that the change is being made because federal law and existing
regulations “clearly prohibit non-governmental organizations” from collecting
and holding passport application fees. That means nonprofit libraries are out,
while government-run libraries remain unaffected.
What the agency
hasn’t explained is why this has suddenly become an issue now, after years of
libraries providing the service without problems. The spokesperson also
declined to say exactly how many libraries have been ordered to stop. However,
a State Department statement said, “passport services has over 7,500 acceptance
facilities nationwide and the number of libraries found ineligible makes up
less than one percent of our total network.”
According to the
American Library Association, 1,400 public libraries across the U.S.—most of
them nonprofit—stand to be impacted. That number constitutes roughly 15 percent
of all public libraries across the nation.
Lawmakers from
both major parties are pushing back. Members of Congress from Connecticut,
Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Maryland recently sent a letter to
Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to keep the program in place until
Congress can come up with a permanent fix.
“In a time when
demand for passports is surging, libraries are among the most accessible
passport acceptance facilities, particularly for working families and rural
residents,” the lawmakers wrote.
They also warned
that removing libraries from the system could force people to travel long
distances, take unpaid time off work or skip getting a passport altogether, especially
as demand increases due to new Real
ID requirements. If Congressional Republicans pass new, harsher voting
rules, citizens will need to provide a valid passport or their birth certificate
for registration purposes. Additionally, due to the current administration’s heightened
immigration enforcement actions, people are increasingly carrying their
passports as proof of citizenship.
Financial impact
on these nonprofit libraries is another concern, the letter stated. Many
libraries rely on passport processing fees to support staffing and programming.
Lawmakers warned that some libraries could find themselves faced with staff
layoffs, program shutdowns or even complete closure if they’re banned from
continuing the service.
To address the
issue, Pennsylvania Representatives Madeleine Dean, a Democrat, and John Joyce,
a Republican, have introduced bipartisan legislation that would enable
501(c)(3) nonprofit libraries to continue accepting passport applications by modifying
the Passport Act of 1920. A companion bill has also been proposed in the
Senate.
Meanwhile, the State
Department pointed out that most Americans should still have access to passport
services, since it claims 99 percent of the U.S. population lives within 20
miles of a passport processing site, such as a post office, county clerk’s
office or government-run library.
“Should the
removal of an ineligible facility affect passport services, we will work to
identify new eligible program partners in the impacted area,” the spokesperson
said.
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