The U.S. Postal Service will hold passport fairs at the Idyllwild Post Office from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 8. The fair is for first-time passport applicants.

No appointments are necessary. Customers have the option of applying for a passport book (good for all international travel) or the passport card (good only for land and sea travel between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda).

Passport fees

Adults Minors

(Ages 16-plus)      (Under 16)

Passport Card $30 $15

Passport Book $110 $80

Passport Card and Book $140 $95

The above fees must be paid with a personal check or money order. (No exceptions.) In addition to the above costs, there is also a $25 processing/acceptance fee plus a $15 fee for photos, which can be paid for by cash, personal check, debit and credit cards, or money order. Passport photo services will be available.

Travelers are encouraged to apply for a passport several months before they are scheduled to travel overseas. The average time for passport applications and renewals is six weeks. However, for an added fee, the State Department will expedite the application and process it within three weeks.

To apply for a passport, travelers need to complete Passport Application Form DS-11 (unsigned) and provide one of the following: a U.S. birth certificate from the Department of Vital Statistics (not a certificate of birth) or naturalization papers. Applicants must also must show either a valid driver’s license, a previous or current U.S. passport book or card, Certificate of Naturalization, Certificate of Citizenship, military ID, or a federal, state or municipal government employee ID card.

Applicants ages 15 or under must be present with both parents unless consent is given. For those who are ages 16 or 17, only one parent needs to be present.

The Passport Fair will be at the Palm Desert Post Office on Sunday, April 2, and the Murrieta Carrier Annex on Sunday, April 9.

For more information about passport application requirements and to download forms, visit the State Department’s travel website at www.travel.state.gov.