Apply for Your Canadian Passport – Step by Step Guide

1. Choose the passport application you need: regular or simplified renewal
2. Complete the passport application
3. Gather your required documents and get your photos taken
4. Get your guarantor to endorse your application: If you are a Canadian citizen applying for your first Canadian passport, or your current Canadian passport has been expired for more than 1 year, then you will need to find a guarantor. A guarantor is someone other than yourself who confirms your identity for Passport Canada.
5. Submit your application by mail or in person.

Index

1. Completing the Application
2. Documents Required
   • Photos
3. What is a Guarantor?
4. How Much Does it Cost?
5. Submitting:
   • By Mail
   • At Service Canada
   • In Person

Step 1: Complete the Application

1. Fill out the PDF form online, the one that opens when you click the link above. The online form is divided into several sections:
   • Section H: fill in your personal information.
   • Section I: Your guarantor must fill in and sign this section, AFTER you have completed the rest of the application form.
   • Section J: This section covers any previous Canadian Travel Document (passport, certificate of identity, or refugee travel document) that you may have previously had.
   • Section K: Proof of Canadian Citizenship. You will need to provide documents to prove you are a Canadian citizen. They will depend on whether you born in Canada or outside Canada. (See below)
   • Section L: Documents to support identity, such as a driver’s license. (See below)
   • Section C: Period of validity. You may choose a 5-year or a 10-year Your fee will be higher for the 10-year option.
   • Additional Personal Information: this includes your previous addresses for the last 2 years.
   • References: you must list 2 references. A reference cannot be a guarantor, nor can a guarantor be a reference. References must meet the following requirements:
     • Have known you for at least 2 years;
     • Not be your guarantor;
     • Not be a family member (this includes your in-laws);
     • Be 18 years of age or older;
     • Agree to having you use their contact information and name for your passport application.
2. Emergency Contact Information: while this section is optional, it is recommended you provide the name and information of someone who can be contacted in case of an emergency. It should NOT be someone who normally travels with you, like a partner or spouse, because if you both get into trouble abroad, it’s of no help.
3. Print out the completed application form.
4. Sign each page of the completed application form.

 
Step 2: Gather Documentation

• If you were born in Canada, you must provide one of the following:
  • Birth Certificate issued by the province or territory where you were born, OR
  • Certificate of Citizenship issued by CIC (now IRCC).
• If you were born outside Canada, you must provide one of the following:
  • Certificate of citizenship;
  • Citizenship Card (issued prior to 2012)
  • Certificate of naturalization (naturalized pre-1977);
  • Certificate of retention of Canadian citizenship (issued pre-1977);
  • Certificate of registration of birth abroad.
• You must provide 1 photo ID document that includes your name, sex, date of birth, your signature, and be issued by a provincial/territorial/state government. Examples include:
  • Provincial driver’s licence;
  • Provincial, territorial, or federal ID card;
  • Federal, provincial, or territorial employee card;
  • Military ID;
  • Certificate of Indian Status;
  • Foreign passport that meets the above requirements (photo, name, date of birth, etc.).
• 2 identical Passport Photos. On the back of EACH photo you must have:
  • The name and complete address of the photographer;
  • The date the photos were taken;
  • Go here and print out the PDF with the complete passport photo requirements. Take the printout with you to a commercial photographer only. Do not have friends or family members try to take your passport photo. They will NOT be accepted unless they are taken by a professional photographer. Please note the passport photo requirements are different for Canada and the US. You should take the print out of the PDF with the requirements to any photographer, especially one located overseas. As of May 2015, there are 2 new requirements for Canadian passport photos:
    • No tinted eyeglasses should be worn;
    • Passport photos are only valid for only 6 MONTHS from the date they are taken.

Step 3: Get a Guarantor

• Complete and sign the section of your passport application called Declaration of Guarantor;
• Write the following on the back of 1 of your passport photos:
  

  I certify this to be a true likeness of (the applicant’s name);

• They may also have to sign and date each photocopy of any documents you have to submit to confirm your identity.

Guarantor Within Canada

• Be a Canadian citizen holding a valid 5-year or 10-year Canadian passport.
• Have known you personally, for at least 2 years.­­
• In the case of a passport application for a child, the guarantor must know the parent or legal guardian personally for at least 2 years, and have knowledge of the child.
• The Guarantor’s passport must not be expired, or must have expired for less than 1 year on the date you submit your own passport application.
• Be a Canadian citizen 18 years of age, or older.
• Have been 16 years of age or older, when he or she applied for their passport.
• Provide the requested information from their passport to Passport Canada.
• Be accessible to the Passport Program for verification.
• A parent applying on behalf of their child for the child’s passport cannot be a guarantor. The other parent is allowed to be a guarantor, as long as they meet the rest of the requirements listed directly above (Canadian citizen, have known you personally … etc.).
• Your guarantor’s passport will NOT be considered valid if any of the following holds:
  • The guarantor’s passport is damaged or not accessible;
  • The guarantor’s passport has been suspended or revoked;
  • The guarantor’s passport has been reported lost or stolen;
  • The guarantor’s passport has been found and returned to the Passport Program;
  • The guarantor’s passport has been destroyed by the Passport Program;
  • The Passport Program has requested that the guarantor’s passport be returned.

Guarantor from Outside of Canada

• Your guarantor can be a Canadian citizen, as long as they fulfil the requirements listed above for applications made within Canada, OR
• Your guarantor can be an Occupational Guarantor – similar to what the requirements were for guarantors in Canada, before they were modified in 2012. An occupational guarantor can be one of the following professions:
  • Medical doctor
  • Head of a university or college
  • Dentist
  • Judge
  • Lawyer/Notary
  • Notary Public
  • Pharmacist
  • Police Officer
  • Signing Officer of a Bank, Trust Company, or a full-services Financial Institution
  • Veterinarian.

No Guarantor?

• Any passport office, or
• By phoning the Passport Program from Canada or the USA: Toll-free 1-800-567-6868 (TTY 1-866-255-7655)

Step 5: Fees and Submitting the Application

Fees:

Submitting By Mail

• Credit Card (Visa, Master Card, American Express);
• Prepaid Card, embossed only with raised letters or numbers – (Visa, Master Card, American Express);
• Certified Cheque payable to Receiver General for Canada;
• Bank Money Order payable to Receiver General for Canada;
• Postal Money Order payable to Receiver General for Canada;
• NOT ACCEPTABLE by mail: personal cheques or cash.

Mailing Address:

Government of Canada
Passport Program
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0G3
Canada

Courier Address

Government of Canada
Passport Program
22 de Varennes Street
Gatineau, Quebec J8T 8R1
Canada

Submitting Through a Receiving Agent

Submitting in Person

• Credit Card or prepaid Card (Visa, Master Card, American Express);
• Debit Card (Interac);
• Certified Cheque payable to Receiver General for Canada;
• Bank Money Order payable to Receiver General for Canada;
• Postal Money Order payable to Receiver General for Canada.

Who can submit a passport application on your behalf?

• parent,
• child,
• parent’s spouse or common-law partner,
• child’s spouse or common-law partner,
• brother or sister,
• half-brother or half-sister,
• stepbrother or stepsister,
• spouse or common-law partner.

Locations

Receiving Your Passport

• If you applied by mail, you will receive your new passport by mail, along with any original documentation that you submitted. The passport and documentation may come in 2 separate packages.
• If you applied in person and you paid for a pick-up service, the pick-up date will be listed on your receipt.
• A third party may pick up your passport, if they have written authorization from you to do so and they have valid ID.