How to Get a Passport in Tampa Florida

Editor's Note: U.S. passports are currently taking up to seven weeks to process using the government's expedited service.  It is possible to get a passport in less time by scheduling an appointment with the Passport Agency by calling 877-487-2778 and appearing in person at their office.

Tampa is not only a popular vacation, convention, and sporting destination – it’s also home to a thriving economy whose companies are doing business all over the world.  More area residents are pursuing their own international travel, especially retirees and employees of large companies with a strong presence in the area.

While tourism accounts for less than 10% of Tampa’s economy, the city attracts some 15 million visitors annually to the Suncoast’s sandy beaches, professional sports venues, botanical gardens, art museums, and attractions including Busch Gardens, the Florida Aquarium, and Zoo Tampa.  Once known as “Cigar City” because of its many cigar factories, the Tampa Bay economy is now powered by vibrant modern industries such as aerospace and defense, information technology, finance, life sciences, and healthcare.

As the state’s second-largest metropolitan area, the Tampa economic engine has driven much of Florida’s growth in recent years.  More than 70 companies are headquartered in the region, including Fortune 500 companies Jabil (semiconductors), Mosaic (chemicals), Raymond James Financial, and Hertz Global Holdings.  Restaurant chains Outback Steakhouse, Beef O’Brady’s, Checkers/Rally’s, Cheeseburger in Paradise, The Melting Pot, Metro Diner, and World of Beer are based here.  Several notable companies recently relocated their headquarters to the area, include cybersecurity firm OPSWAT; transit packaging company Signode; and Suzuki Marine USA.  The top non-government employers in the Tampa Bay area are BayCare Health System, Publix Supermarkets, and HCA West Florida.  

The state of Florida’s strong economy and its rising population – the fastest-growing in the United States –also contribute to increased demand for new passports.  Of Florida’s 22.4 million residents in 2022, more than 3.2 million lived in the four-county Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan statistical area (Hernando, Hillsboro, Pasco, and Pinellas counties).  The Tampa MSA (also known as the Suncoast or the Tampa Bay area) was the 18th largest MSA in the United States in 2022.  The Tampa MSA is sometimes combined with Citrus, Manatee, Polk, and Sarasota counties for regional planning purposes.  In 2022 the U.S. Passport Agency issued 1.3 million passports to residents of Florida, representing a post-pandemic recovery that exceeds the 1.2 million passports issued in 2018 and 2019.

Tampa Bay is the birthplace of commercial airline service, with the world’s first scheduled service flying from St. Petersburg to Tampa in 1914.  Today, Tampa International Airport (TPA) serves 93 non-stop destinations across North America, the Caribbean, Central America, and Europe via 22 U.S. and foreign carriers.  Port Tampa Bay is also the largest tonnage port in Florida and seventh largest in the country.  The port is second only to Miami for Florida cruise ship traffic, with the Tampa Port Authority operating three cruise ship terminals in the Channel District.

The region is also home to several colleges, universities, private institutions, and technical schools, most notably the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa and its satellite campus in St. Petersburg.  Other four-year institutions in the Tampa Bay area include the University of Tampa, Florida College in Temple Terrace, Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, and Trinity College in New Port Richey.  There are also two law schools: Stetson University College of Law, with campuses in Tampa and Gulfport, and Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Riverview.  Many of these schools offer international study opportunities that further boost the need for passports.

Tampa lies in the midst of an enormous aerospace/defense industry cluster.  The University of South Florida co-anchors Florida’s High-Tech Corridor, which covers 23 counties, the University of Florida in Gainesville, and the University of Central Florida in Orlando.  Tampa is home to three major military installations: MacDill Air Force Base, Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, and Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg. MacDill AFC is the second-largest employer in the Tampa Bay region with more than 30,000 employees (including 15,000+ active uniformed military).  The growing number of active military, retirees, immigrants, and people relocating from colder parts of the United States are also boosting demand for travel to other countries.

To travel abroad, adults (ages 16 and up) need a U.S. passport.  The passport is good for 10 years, after which it must be renewed.  To obtain a new passport or renew an existing one, you will have to appear in person at an authorized passport acceptance facility.  Employees at these government facilities will verify your identity and your documentation.  You will also have to appear in person if:

  • You previously held a child’s passport (only good for five years);
  • Your passport expired more than five years ago; or
  • Your passport has been lost or damaged.

In Tampa, there are three options to obtain a new passport: visit a local passport acceptance facility; drive to the Passport Agency in Miami or Atlanta (by appointment only); or, in certain circumstances, use a private passport service such as Visa Supply to expedite delivery.

(NOTE: If you already have an adult passport in your possession that is in good condition, and it expired less than five years ago (or has yet to expire and you wish to renew), click here to learn how to renew a passport: https://www.visasupply.com/passports-and-visas-101/post/passport-renewal-in-atlanta.

Option 1: Appear at an Acceptance Facility

The most common way to obtain a passport is visiting a passport acceptance facility.  This link allows you to find the closest facility to your home or office: https://iafdb.travel.state.gov.  Residents of West Central Florida can visit one of the local county courthouses that serve as a passport acceptance facility.  One highly recommended outlet is the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court and Comptroller (https://www.hillsclerk.com/Additional-Services/Passport-Services). They have locations in downtown Tampa, Brandon, and Plant City.  You can make an appointment (available from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) on their website or walk in without an appointment.  The office charges a $35 passport fee, in addition to the U.S. government fees.  They will also take your passport photo for another $15.

The basic form for a new passport (DS-11) is available online at https://pptform.state.gov/.   You can complete the form online and then print it out, and take with you to the acceptance facility. (Do NOT sign the passport form in advance, as the government agent must witness your signature.) You may also fill out the DS-11 form by hand at the passport acceptance facility.

You will submit supporting documentation along with form DS-11.  The required documents include:

  • Your long-form birth certificate or a government-certified copy of that certificate. {If you need to order a new copy of your birth certificate, we recommend using VitalChek (https://www.vitalchek.com), a private company with an easy-to-use process and less expensive rates.}
  • For naturalized citizens, their original certificate of naturalization.
  • State-issued driver’s license.
  • One photo that meets all passport image criteria, and properly attached to the application. (See https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/photos.html.)
  • A check or money payable to the U.S. Department of State. The basic passport fee is $130.  Additional charges apply for expedited service and other options.  For a full list of fees, please visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/fees.html.
  • Another $35 payable via check, money order, cash or debit card to be paid to the passport acceptance facility for the identity verification process. (Check with the specific facility for the exact forms of payment they accept.)

Passport acceptance facilities are government offices but they do not actually issue passports.  These facilities will verify your documents and forward them to the State Department’s Passport Agency.  The normal turnaround time for renewals by mail is eight to eleven weeks.  Expedited service within seven weeks is available for an added fee.  You can also pay extra for return delivery in two days (rather than the typical first-class mailing).

Option2: Apply in Person at a U.S. Passport Agency

If you need to travel within the next month, you will need to apply in person at a federal passport office.  There is no federal passport office in Tampa, so the closest locations are the Miami Passport Agency or the U.S. Passport Agency in Atlanta.  The Miami office at 335 Canal Street is about four hours away, while the downtown Atlanta office at 230 Peachtree Street is just over a six-hour drive from Tampa.  You can ONLY apply in person here if you can prove the need to travel within the next two weeks – or four weeks if you are traveling to a country that requires a visa.  You will need to fill out Form DS-11 and make an appointment directly with either office by calling 877-487-2778.  Note that the agencies are busy during the summer travel season and around the holidays, so give yourself plenty of lead time. 

For your appointment, bring the identification listed above, as well as:

  • Your appointment confirmation number
  • Proof of travel plans, such as your flight itinerary, hotel reservation or cruise tickets
  • One passport photo
  • Methods of payment. The agency takes major credit cards, debit cards, cash, checks and money orders.  In addition to normal costs, there is an additional $60 expediting fee.

Contact information, directions and other details about the Miami Passport Agency can be found at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/passport-agencies/miami.html.  Atlanta Passport Agency information is available at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/passport-agencies/atlanta.html.

Visiting the Passport Agency is more expensive and may be less convenient than using an acceptance facility when you factor in the added costs for transportation and your time.  However, if you need a passport quickly, it is worth the extra effort.  Unlike a passport acceptance facility, the Passport Agency can issue your new passport – often on the same day or the following day.

Option 3: Use a Private Passport Service

The third option is to use a private passport expediter such as Visa Supply to speed up the turnaround time.  For this option, you still need to visit a passport acceptance facility so a government official can verify your identity and documents.  Normally the facility can only forward your documents to the State Department for processing.  However, if you are using a courier service such as Visa Supply, the acceptance facility will seal your documents in an envelope and return them to you.  You will then take that envelope back to our office so we can ship it to one of our couriers in San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, or Washington, D.C., so we can expedite your passport application.

Our office is located in the suburbs of Atlanta, which is about a 6-hour drive from Tampa.  If you want Visa Supply to help you, you can visit our office in-person so we can take your passport photo; help you prepare your DS-11 application; plus review your documentation.  You can take these documents to the DeKalb County Clerk of Superior Court in Decatur (about a 30-minute drive from our office), and then return the sealed envelope to Visa Supply so we can expedite your application with the Passport Agency.  Or, we can help you remotely by guiding you the process from beginning to end. 

Since Visa Supply is a private company, we charge a fee for our services (in addition to the government’s $190 expedite fee for a passport book).  Beyond the convenience of using our office, we make sure your application form is filled out correctly.  We also take your passport photo and will ensure that it meets the government’s specifications.  Our basic service starts at $100.  Customers receive their new passport (along with the old one) within seven weeks; for additional fees we can also get passports renewed in as fast as one week.  Please call us for the latest details.

Tampa Bay area residents with questions about obtaining a new U.S. passport can schedule a telephone call through our website.  Our free consultation will explain the process of getting a passport and help you understand the different options for getting a passport based on your international travel plans.