3 Documents Every Parent Needs When Traveling With Children

Zack Dean is a former Marketing Writer for LawDepot. Zack earned his Bachelor of Communication from Grant MacEwan University in Alberta. With over four years of experience in producing .

Ngaire King is Legal Counsel for LawDepot. Ngaire has been working in the legal field for over five years and was called to the bar in Alberta in 2020. Before becoming a lawyer, Ngaire .

Fact checked by

Rebecca Koehn has been working in content creation and editing for over ten years and search engine optimization for over five years. Koehn is the Content Marketing Manager for LawDepot.

• Always have a document with you that proves your relationship with your child when traveling.
• Your child needs a Child Travel Consent when they're traveling without all their parents or legal guardians.
• No matter their age, everyone requires a passport to travel outside the United States.

Table of Contents

1. Proof of relationship with the child
2. Child Travel Consent
3. Passport
4. Flying with children under two years old
5. Quick Tips for Parents Traveling with Children

Related Documents

• CHILD TRAVEL CONSENT
• CHILD MEDICAL CONSENT

Let's be honest, as great as taking trips and creating new memories with your family is, being the parent responsible for getting everyone safely to the destination can be a hectic task. It's especially true when the kids outnumber you at an airport.

You already need to worry about getting everyone where they need to be on time and making sure no one forgot anything. The last thing you need is an airline, train, bus, or cruise ship company blindsiding you with a rule you didn't even know existed until you were checking in.

That's why we're going to let you know about the documents you need to gather before traveling with your children.

Proof of relationship with the child

Keeping your children safe is everyone’s top priority when traveling. That’s why you shouldn’t take it personally when the airliner asks you to prove that you are your child’s parent or guardian before allowing you to fly away with them.

For that reason, you should always have a document on you that proves your relationship with your child when traveling. This is particularly important if you and your child don't share the same last name and you want to avoid the complications that can come along with that when passing through security or crossing borders.

• Adoption documents
• Marriage certificate
• Court order
• Certificates of name change
• The child’s birth certificates

Bringing the child's identification (ID) with you is also a good idea. Even though the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) doesn't require children under 18 years old to provide ID for domestic flights, some individual airlines do. It's best to take a ‘better safe than sorry’ approach.

Children over 15 years old might be able to use a school-issued ID or library card. However, a government-issued ID or birth certificate is your safest bet.

Child Travel Consent

Your child will need a Child Travel Consent any time they're traveling without all their parents or legal guardians present. If your child is traveling alone, with only one parent, or with a non-legal guardian, they will require a Child Travel Consent signed by both parents or legal guardians. A Child Travel Consent is sometimes called a letter of permission to travel.

A Child Travel Consent essentially proves to the transportation providers and Custom Officers that both parents or legal guardians give the child authorization to travel by providing their signatures.

• The child’s basic information (e.g., name, gender, birthday, and place of birth)
• Both parents’ contact information
• The traveling arrangements
• The destination

If the child is traveling with a passport internationally, the Child Travel Consent should also include their passport information and birth certificate number.

If you have sole custody of your child, you may not need to have the other parent sign the document, but you should travel with a copy of your court custody documentation with you. In addition, if the child has a deceased parent, some airlines or countries might require the Child Travel Consent to include a copy of the deceased parent’s birth certificate.

It is highly recommended to have your Child Travel Consent notarized. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recommends that any child under the age of 16 traveling without both legal guardians should have a notarized Child Travel Consent signed by both legal guardians. Having your Child Travel Consent notarized decreases the chance of travel authorities questioning its validity.

Furthermore, the country you travel to and the airline you use will have varying signing requirements. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, will not allow one parent and a child to cross the UK border until they provide proof of their relationship to each other.

You can check your destination's entry and exiting requirements at The Bureau of Consular Affairs website. In addition, you can contact the U.S. Embassy in your child’s destination country to determine what documentation your child will require.

What kind of travel are you consenting to?