International Travel Consent After a Florida Divorce

Quick Summary: A Florida divorce or paternity judgment does not, by itself, settle who can take a child on an international trip. International travel consent for children usually depends on two separate layers: the federal passport rule that generally requires both parents' written consent before a U.S. passport is issued to a child under 16, and anything Florida's § 61.45 prevention-of-abduction statute or the parenting plan itself says about travel. Parents who assume a signed parenting plan automatically clears international travel — or who assume the other parent's silence means consent — often find out otherwise at the airport.

Table of Contents

• 1. The federal two-parent consent rule for a child's passport
• 2. What counts as proof when parents are divorced or separated
• 3. Florida's own layer: Fla. Stat. § 61.45 and parenting-plan travel terms
• 4. Why the destination country matters: the Hague Convention
• 5. The Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program
• 6. Building international travel consent into a parenting plan
• 7. What to do if the other parent won't consent
• Frequently asked questions

For families in Boca Raton and throughout South Florida, international travel is often routine — visiting grandparents abroad, a holiday trip, a family wedding. After a divorce, the same trip can turn into a legal problem if international travel consent for children was never addressed in writing. The issue is not just whether the other parent objects; it is whether the right paperwork exists before the trip is booked.

1. The federal two-parent consent rule for a child's passport

Under federal regulation 22 C.F.R. § 51.28, generally referred to as the Two-Parent Consent Law, a U.S. passport cannot be issued to a child under 16 unless both parents or legal guardians consent, or one parent presents evidence establishing sole authority to apply — most commonly a court order granting sole parental responsibility or sole authority to obtain the child's passport. This federal rule applies regardless of what a Florida parenting plan says about time-sharing; it is a separate layer administered by the U.S. Department of State, not the family court.

In practice, both parents typically must appear together with the child when applying, or the absent parent must complete Form DS-3053, Statement of Consent, signed before a notary, along with a photocopy of that parent's photo ID. A passport that already exists does not solve the problem for a specific trip — the consent requirement governs issuance and renewal of the passport itself, not each individual departure, but a parent who refuses to execute Form DS-3053 for a renewal can effectively block international travel until the issue is resolved.

2. What counts as proof when parents are divorced or separated

When parents share parental responsibility — the default outcome under Florida's parenting-plan statute, Fla. Stat. § 61.13 — the State Department generally still requires both parents' consent for a passport unless the Florida judgment specifically grants one parent sole authority over passport and international-travel decisions. A standard 50/50 or majority time-sharing parenting plan, without that specific language, does not by itself satisfy the sole-authority exception.

Acceptable proof of sole authority typically includes a certified copy of a court order that explicitly addresses passport issuance or international travel, a death certificate for the other parent, or specific findings restricting the other parent's parental responsibility. A general final judgment of dissolution that is silent on international travel is rarely treated as sufficient on its own — which is exactly why many Florida parenting plans now address passport and travel consent as a distinct provision rather than assuming the time-sharing schedule covers it.

3. Florida's own layer: Fla. Stat. § 61.45 and parenting-plan travel terms

Separately from the federal passport rule, Florida law gives family courts their own tools to address international travel risk directly. Fla. Stat. § 61.45 allows a court, when there is a credible risk that a parent may remove a child from Florida, the United States, or conceal the child's whereabouts, to order protective measures as part of a parenting plan — including requiring a parent to surrender passports, prohibiting removal of the child from the state or country without the other parent's written permission or court approval, restricting travel to countries that are not parties to the Hague Convention, or requiring a bond sufficient to deter abduction.

Section 61.45(4) lists risk factors a court may weigh, including a prior threat or attempt to abduct the child, weak ties to the local community, recent liquidation of assets, an unexplained passport application, a history of domestic violence or child abuse, and whether a destination country is a Hague Convention partner. These findings are fact-specific and are not automatic — a parent requesting travel restrictions under § 61.45 needs to present evidence of an actual risk, not simply a general preference against international trips. Our overview of objecting to a Florida relocation petition covers a related but distinct issue: domestic relocation within the U.S., which uses a different statute and a different notice process than international travel consent.

4. Why the destination country matters: the Hague Convention

The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is a multilateral treaty that gives parents a path to seek a child's return if the child is wrongfully removed to, or retained in, another treaty partner country in violation of custody rights. The U.S. Department of State's Office of Children's Issues administers the U.S. side of Hague Convention cases and maintains current information on which countries are partners.

The Hague Convention only works as a remedy if the destination country is a treaty partner — and even then, a return petition is a separate legal process that takes time and does not guarantee a particular outcome. This is precisely why Fla. Stat. § 61.45(1)(c) authorizes courts to restrict travel to non-Hague countries when risk factors are present: for a parent genuinely worried about international retention, prevention through a specific written order is far more reliable than relying on the Convention after the fact.

5. The Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program

Parents who want advance notice of any passport application for their child, rather than relying solely on the two-parent consent rule, can enroll in the Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program (CPIAP) through the State Department's Office of Children's Issues. Enrollment uses Form DS-3077 along with proof of identity and documentation of the legal relationship to the child, such as a birth certificate or custody order, and can be submitted by email to the Office of Children's Issues.

CPIAP does not block a passport from being issued if the legal requirements are otherwise met, but it alerts the enrolled parent when an application is submitted or a passport has already been issued for the child — giving that parent an opportunity to act quickly if an application appears to violate a custody order or the two-parent consent rule.

6. Building international travel consent into a parenting plan

The most reliable way to avoid an airport-counter dispute is to address international travel consent specifically, in writing, at the time the parenting plan is negotiated or modified — not to assume the general time-sharing schedule covers it. Provisions worth resolving in advance include:

• Advance written notice. How many days before departure must the traveling parent disclose the itinerary, dates, and destination?
• Consent documentation. Will the non-traveling parent sign a notarized travel-consent letter for each trip, or will the plan authorize travel to a defined list of countries without a separate letter each time?
• Hague Convention status. Does the plan require Hague-partner destinations only, or does it allow case-by-case review for non-Hague countries?
• Passport custody. Which parent holds the child's passport between trips, and how is it transferred before travel?
• Emergency contact and itinerary access. Does the non-traveling parent receive flight details, lodging information, and a way to reach the child?

A right of first refusal clause addresses a different scheduling problem, but the same principle applies to travel terms: specificity prevents disputes. If an existing parenting plan says nothing about international travel and the parents cannot agree on a trip, the parent seeking to travel — or the parent seeking to restrict travel — generally needs to request a modification of the parenting plan to add enforceable terms, rather than relying on an informal understanding. For the broader framework governing parenting plans and time-sharing in Florida, see our children and family law practice page.

7. What to do if the other parent won't consent

If the other parent refuses to sign Form DS-3053, refuses to agree to a specific trip, or there is a genuine concern about retention abroad, the options depend on the circumstances. A parent who needs a passport issued over the other parent's objection generally must seek a court order addressing passport authority specifically — the State Department will not resolve a custody dispute itself. A parent who is concerned about a real abduction risk should raise Fla. Stat. § 61.45 protective measures with the court before a trip is booked, not after a child has already left the country, since enforcement options narrow considerably once a child is in a foreign jurisdiction.

Neither side of this dispute benefits from waiting. Travel consent and passport-authority issues are far easier to resolve in a Florida courtroom, with evidence and time to prepare, than they are to unwind once a flight has already left the gate.

Frequently asked questions about international travel consent for children in Florida

Cited Sources

• 22 C.F.R. § 51.28 — Federal two-parent consent requirement for issuance of a U.S. passport to a child under 16.
• U.S. Department of State Form DS-3053 — Statement of Consent for a minor's passport application.
• Fla. Stat. § 61.45 — Court-ordered parenting plan protections against risk of international or domestic child abduction.
• Fla. Stat. § 61.13 — Parenting plan and time-sharing schedule requirements.
• Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program — U.S. Department of State, Office of Children's Issues.
• U.S. Department of State Form DS-3077 — CPIAP enrollment request form.

International travel consent for children is one of the easiest issues to resolve in advance — and one of the hardest to fix after a trip has already been booked or a child has already left the country. If your parenting plan does not address passports and international travel, or the other parent is refusing to cooperate, contact Yaffa Family Law Group for a confidential consultation.