At what balance do I lose my passport?

Arrears exceeding $2,500 can be certified for passport denial, and an existing passport may be revoked, restricted, or limited.

If I pay it below $2,500, is the passport automatic?

No. Only the state agency can request a release, and release practice is state-set and discretionary. Get the agency's condition in writing.

Can I travel for a family emergency?

Federal practice has a narrow life-or-death emergency channel handled through the agency and the State Department. Treat it as an agency request, not a right, and start it early.

Guide

Child Support Arrears and Your Passport

The federal line

When arrears exceed $2,500, the state certifies the debt to the federal Office of Child Support Services, which transmits it to the Department of State — which shall refuse to issue a passport and may revoke, restrict, or limit an existing one (42 U.S.C. §§654(31), 652(k)). The threshold was $5,000 until the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 lowered it to $2,500, effective October 1, 2006.

The exit is state-set

Only the state agency can request a release, and release policy is set by the state and is discretionary: some states release on an approved payment plan or a lump sum bringing the balance below $2,500 or to $0. No page on this site promises a release, because no agency's release is ours to promise. The verified state notes in our data: the split program table shows which states compromise state-owed arrears at all — a compromise that brings the certified balance down is the durable exit; New York's district programs can reduce DSS arrears substantially in New York City; Florida offers a payment agreement (which addresses licenses, and is not itself a passport release); and Illinois's Project Clean Slate forgives assigned arrears after six months of regular current-support payments — confirm its current availability with HFS.

What to do in order

Get the split in writing, attack the state-owed slice through your state's program or payment track (Door 2), keep current support current, and ask the agency — in writing — what its release condition is for your balance. Do not book international travel against a hoped-for release.

Questions

At what balance do I lose my passport?: Arrears exceeding $2,500 can be certified for passport denial, and an existing passport may be revoked, restricted, or limited.
If I pay it below $2,500, is the passport automatic?: No. Only the state agency can request a release, and release practice is state-set and discretionary. Get the agency's condition in writing.
Can I travel for a family emergency?: Federal practice has a narrow life-or-death emergency channel handled through the agency and the State Department. Treat it as an agency request, not a right, and start it early.

Rules checked October 2026. General information, not legal advice.