Passport Offices and Expedited Passports in Mississippi

In detail

Getting a passport in Mississippi

Mississippi has no State Department passport agency, but the New Orleans Passport Center is a short drive from the Gulf Coast and a few hours from Jackson. Most Mississippians apply for a first passport at a post office or a circuit clerk's office. For urgent travel you can book an agency appointment or use a registered courier such as Allstate Passports & Visas. This page covers 11 Mississippi cities, explains each option, and shows how to get a Mississippi birth certificate the same day.

Acceptance facilities in Mississippi

For a first passport, a child's passport or a replacement for a lost or stolen one, you apply in person at an acceptance facility. In Mississippi that is often a post office or a circuit clerk's office, some by appointment. The city pages above show the facilities near you.

Bring Form DS-11 (sign only in front of the agent), a certified birth certificate or other proof of citizenship, a photo ID and a photocopy, and one passport photo. The passport fee goes to the U.S. Department of State and the execution fee to the facility.

The nearest passport agencies

From Biloxi, Hattiesburg and Jackson, the New Orleans Passport Center is the closest, about an hour and a half from Biloxi. From Hernando and North Mississippi, the Arkansas Passport Center in Hot Springs is nearer. Agencies see applicants by appointment only, and only if they travel internationally within 14 days or need a foreign visa within 28 days. How to book an agency appointment.

Birth certificates in Mississippi

The Mississippi State Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, has birth records from November 1912. A certified copy costs $17, and extra copies of the same record are $6 each. If you apply in person at the Vital Records office at 222 Marketridge Drive in Ridgeland, near Jackson, you usually receive the certificate the same day unless a longer search is needed. You can also order by mail, by phone, or online through VitalChek, which adds a fee.

The state issues the certified long form with a raised seal, which works for a passport. Mississippi birth records are not open to the public: you need a legitimate and tangible interest and a valid photo ID. Details are on the Mississippi State Department of Health birth certificate page.