Who needs a consent letter
The page on international travel documents for children at USA.gov says a child may need a letter of consent if traveling alone or with only one parent or guardian. It says who should sign:
- If the child travels with one custodial parent, the letter should come from the other parent.
- If the child travels with a guardian, another adult, or alone, both parents should sign.
It also tells you to contact the embassy or consulate of the country you will visit about its consent letter and entry and exit rules. Some countries ask for more than a letter. That is the step to do first, because their rule decides what the notary needs to see.
If you are traveling over Thanksgiving or the December break, get the letter signed and notarized now, while every parent is easy to reach.
What to put in the letter
USA.gov offers one line of suggested wording: “I acknowledge that my child is traveling outside the country with [the name of the adult] with my permission.” Build the rest of the letter around it with plain facts.
- The child’s full name and date of birth.
- The traveling adult’s full name, and their relationship to the child.
- The destination country or countries, and the travel dates.
- The sentence of permission, in the wording above or close to it.
- The name and phone number of each parent who is not traveling.
- A signature line for each parent who signs, with the date left for the day you sign in front of the notary.
Some families add flight numbers, the child’s passport number, and the address where the child will stay. Add what the destination country asks for. Do not sign until you are in front of the notary, or on the video call with one.
The general method for writing any letter that will be notarized is on notarized letter.
What the notary does, and does not do
The notary does not approve the trip or check the custody arrangement. The notary checks the identity of each parent who signs, watches the signature, and completes a certificate. For a consent letter, that is usually an acknowledgment: the parent says the signature is theirs and was signed willingly. If the destination wants a sworn statement, ask for a jurat instead. The difference is on what is a jurat.
Each parent signing needs a current government photo ID. If the two parents are in different places, each one can sign a separate copy in front of a different notary, or both can sign one copy at separate times. Ask the destination which it prefers. The full list of what to bring is on what do you need to get something notarized.
In person, mobile, or video
| Product | Good for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Walk-in counter | A parent who can get to a bank or store during business hours. | Call first to confirm a notary is working that day. |
| Mobile notary | A parent who cannot leave home or work, or two signers in one place. | The travel fee. Get the total before the notary drives. |
| Video notary (RON) | A parent who lives far away, or is out of the country. | The result is an electronic document. Ask whether the airline or the destination will take a printed copy of it. |
A video session is often the only practical choice when the other parent is in another state. It works only where the notary’s own state allows it, and it gives you an electronic file. If a border officer or airline wants an original with a raised seal, the video route is the wrong one. Booking tips for a house call are on mobile notary services. How a video session runs is on how a remote online notary works.
If the parent is abroad
A parent living outside the United States can use a local notary in that country, a U.S. embassy or consulate, or a U.S. video notary, depending on what the destination accepts. The tradeoffs are on notarize documents from abroad. If the letter is in another language, the destination may want a translation. See notarized translation.
A consent letter is not a passport consent form
If the child also needs a U.S. passport and a parent cannot come to the application, that is a separate federal form with its own notary rule, Form DS-3053. A travel consent letter does not replace it. The State Department’s page on passports for children under 16 says the parent who cannot appear signs DS-3053 in front of a notary, attaches a copy of the front and back of the ID shown to the notary, and that the consent must be signed within 90 days before the application is submitted.
Next step
Ask the destination’s embassy or consulate, and the airline, what they want. Write the letter. Then get each parent’s signature notarized at a counter, by a mobile notary, or on a video call. The buttons below are video notaries, ordered by grade, for a parent who cannot get to a counter.
What does the desk want?
Ask whoever is receiving the document first. Their answer picks the product.
Ready to get an online notary? Try these services.
Video notaries, ordered by grade. Three letters each: hours, ID check, session record. They can disagree.
Full scorecards and the reason behind every letter · Prices from each company's official page, retrieved August 2026.
Sources
- USA.gov, International travel documents for children, read November 2026: a child traveling alone or with one parent or guardian may need a letter of consent; it is preferred in English and notarized; the other parent signs if one parent travels, both parents if a guardian travels or the child travels alone; suggested wording; contact the destination’s embassy or consulate.
- U.S. Department of State, Children under 16: a parent who cannot appear signs Form DS-3053 in the presence of a notary, attaches a front-and-back copy of the ID shown, and signs within 90 days before the application is submitted.