What Is the Passport Place of Issue? Fully Explained

It seems like a trivial question: where is the place of issue in your passport? But it becomes tricky when you can’t find the precise wording in your document, and consequently, you aren’t able to fill out, say, a visa application form in one go.

Let’s figure out what the passport place of issue in your US document is.

Passport place of issue in the US passport

You’ve probably heard that there are 26 passport agencies around the US and national facilities, such as the National Passport Center, that gather applications for processing from different parts of the country.

There are about 9,000 passport offices around the United States located at post offices, public libraries, and other public places where you can submit an application. Unlike passport agencies, passport offices are the acceptance facilities, not the issuing place. 

The need to specify the passport place of issue typically arises when you book a flight with an airline company. It also comes up in the context of a visa or passport application when an applicant is required to fill in the categories for the city, state, and country the passport was issued, and attach a valid photo.

If you’re applying for a passport, make the passport photo-taking process as easy as ABC. You can use a reliable web tool to take a passport photo online. A great thing about it is that you don’t need to leave home and you get the result right away.

If the situation is urgent and you can’t waste a single minute, you might drop by a store nearby. Just like online passport pictures, photos taken at a store will be 2×2 inches, have a white background, and comply with the US State Department guidelines. For example, you can make the most of the Sam’s Club passport photo.

If the place of issue in the US passport is not found

The place of passport issue may be displayed differently depending on the passport issuance date and the place where the passport was applied for and received.

The US passport used to state the place of passport issuance. Later, it was substituted by the issuing authority and is now printed by default US State Department.

The place of passport issuance may indicate an international location when US citizens reside abroad and renew the document there. It’s also the case when the passport is lost or stolen during traveling and replaced by an emergency passport.

Passport applications submitted in a foreign country result in a passport saying US Embassy plus the city of issuance. Though the country of issue is the United States, the place of issue refers to a consulate or embassy and the city (country) where passports are applied for, processed, and handed in.

For example, if an American citizen resides in London and obtains a passport at the US Consulate, the passport place of issue will be US Consulate, London, while the country of issuance is the US.

Where to find the passport place of issue?

You’re likely to find the passport issuing place on the biographic page of the document. It’s displayed together with the important data of a passport holder, like the date of birth, expiration date, name, etc. The place of issue can be stated on your passport photo page under Issuing Authority. Information on the passport issuing place can now be printed on the following pages as well.

Please note that the passport place of issue doesn’t equal the place of your birth and is not the same as the place of citizenship, or passport office location.

There are cases when US passport holders may not find the issuing office in their documents. Unless it’s listed otherwise on your passport pages, it might be sufficient to put the USA when required, provided the passport wasn’t issued abroad. If any doubts, you can double-check the place of issue of your passport with the issuing authority.