The National Passport Information Center (NPIC)

What they can do

• Look up the status of your application and tell you what a suspension letter needs.
• Request an appointment at a regional passport agency when you document urgent travel.
• Explain fees, forms and where your packet should have been mailed.
• Take a report about a lost or stolen passport.

What they cannot do

• Approve, adjudicate or hand-carry your application.
• Override a legal bar such as certified child support arrears.
• Guarantee a passport by a date without a qualifying appointment.
• Change the published processing times.

Escalating a genuinely stuck application

1. 1Check the online status tool first and note the exact wording.
2. 2Compare the elapsed time to the current published processing times.
3. 3Call NPIC and write down the date, time and what you were told.
4. 4If travel is inside 14 days, ask directly for a passport agency appointment and have your itinerary ready.
5. 5If you are past the window with no movement, contact your congressional representative's constituent services office — they have a dedicated liaison for passport cases.

Frequently asked