Minor Travel Consent Letter: Free Form to Print

A child traveling abroad without both parents should carry a consent letter signed by the parent who stays home, or by both parents when neither travels. It names the child, the adult with them, where and when they go, and how to reach the parents. Sign it before a notary; carry the original. This page fills it in free.

How to use it

Choose where the child is going, how many children, who they travel with and the parents’ situation. The answer says who signs, what to carry with the letter and what the State Department says about that country. Then fill in the letter below it: names, dates of birth, passport numbers, the dates of the trip and how to reach the parents. Everything you type stays on your device; it is not saved, sent or put in the link, so a shared link carries only your four choices. Leave any field empty and it prints as a line to write on by hand. “Print or save as PDF” prints the letter alone, one page; choose “Save as PDF” in the print window for a file.

Who asks for it, and in their own words

No U.S. law requires a letter to leave the country, but the agencies at the border recommend one. CBP, in its guide for visitors to the United States: “Have notarized travel permission letters for minors traveling without their parents, if possible. If the child is only accompanied by one parent, the adult should have a notarized note from the child’s other parent—or, in the case of a child traveling with grandparents, uncles or aunts, sisters or brothers, or friends, a note signed by both parents”. The letter this page writes carries CBP’s own sentence: “I acknowledge that … is traveling out of the country with my child. They have my permission to do so.”

Canada says what a letter usually holds: the child’s name; the names and contact information of the parents; the full name, address and contact information of the adult traveling with the child and their relationship to the child; and where the child is going and for how long, with the dates. “Any adult may witness the signing of a consent letter; however, it is strongly recommended that a notary public witness sign it.” “Original signed letters are best.” “Children from the same family travelling together may be listed on one letter.” For a child entering Canada, IRCC adds: “A photocopy of the parents’ or legal guardians’ signed passports or national identity cards should be attached to the letter”, and “The minor child will not be admitted to Canada if the officer is not convinced that the parents or legal guardians have authorized their stay.”

For Mexico, the State Department says “Travelers under 18 may require a notarized parental consent letter if they are not traveling with both parents.” Mexico’s own exit permit for minors is a different thing: the Embassy of Mexico says it is required of every Mexican child and of foreign children who are residents of Mexico, and that a child visiting as a tourist, or traveling with one of their parents, does not need it. A dual U.S.-Mexican child leaving Mexico without either parent needs Mexico’s form or a notarized document, with a Spanish translation.

Who signs

With sole custody, carry a copy of the court order too; after a parent’s death, a copy of the death certificate. Canada recommends a letter from the other parent “whenever possible or safe” even when a court order lets one parent decide alone.

Where the State Department names a rule for children

Its country pages carry a line about children traveling without both parents for 42 places. For any child, a U.S. visitor’s too: Andorra, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Curaçao, Ecuador, Honduras, Kosovo, Laos, Lesotho, Malawi, Mexico, Namibia, North Macedonia, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turks and Caicos Islands, Venezuela. For children who are citizens or residents there: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Jordan, Madagascar, Morocco, Nicaragua, Panama, Russia, Spain, Syria, Yemen. For some children only, after a long stay or as dual nationals: Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay. Choose a country in the tool to read its line word for word. Some go further than a letter: Chile wants the authorization notarized and, from a U.S. notary, apostilled; Honduras asks it for anyone under 21; Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia want unabridged birth certificates.

Worked examples

• A mother takes her 8-year-old to Cancún. The father stays home: he signs the letter before a notary, naming her as the parent traveling. She carries the original, a photocopy of his ID and the child’s birth certificate.
• Grandparents take two grandchildren to Canada. Both parents sign one letter listing both children, with their address and phone, and attach photocopies of their passports. Canada’s officer decides at the border.
• A 15-year-old flies alone to an aunt in Chile. Both parents sign before a notary, and the notarization is apostilled; the child also carries an apostilled birth certificate and the airline’s own unaccompanied-minor form.
• A divorced father with sole custody sends his son on a school bus trip to Canada. He signs alone and attaches the custody order. Coming home by land, CBP accepts the group’s own letter on its letterhead and each child’s birth certificate, for children under 19.

Common mistakes

• Carrying a photocopy. Border officers and airlines may refuse a copy or a scan: carry the signed original.
• Leaving out the dates or the adult. Portugal’s rule wants “the dates and reason for travel and the details about the adult responsible for the child”.
• Treating it as a guarantee. A letter shows consent; each country’s officers still decide who enters.
• A U.S. notary for Chile, without an apostille. The State Department: “If a U.S. notary executes the authorization, it must be apostilled to be valid in Chile.”
• Forgetting the child’s own citizenship. A dual citizen leaving Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico or the Dominican Republic falls under that country’s exit rules, which ask for more than this letter.

Before the trip

Every child needs their own passport for a flight abroad: the Child Passport Checker says who must come to apply, and the Passport Validity Checker whether it lasts long enough. Do I Need a Passport? covers the islands a U.S. citizen can reach without one, as does our list of Caribbean islands you can visit without a passport. Flying south: the best airlines from the US to Mexico and Mexico’s top beach towns. A teen going north on their own may hit a hotel’s age rule: can a minor rent a hotel room in Canada? And if a passport goes missing: losing a passport abroad.