Passport service comes to Gilpin County
County Clerks get folks on their way It’s getting a whole lot easier to leave the country. Gilpinites no longer need to travel to the flatlands to obtain a passport; the Gilpin County Clerk and Recorder’s office began offering passport service on May 5th and will continue to offer the service one day a week, Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The first person to use the service needed a passport renewal, said Liz Trujillo, Gilpin’s passport specialist, “It was easy.” The Clerk’s office provides all of the application paperwork and will even take a passport photo at the same time. Gilpin is one of only four Colorado counties in which people can obtain passports at their Clerk and Recorder’s office. (The others are Arapahoe, Douglas and Larimer.) Trujillo said the idea to offer the service first came up during the Winter Conference of the Colorado Clerks Association held at Ameristar Casino last January. Gilpin’s staff thought it would be exciting to offer the service locally and Gilpin Clerk and Recorder Jessica Kays agreed. Kays authorized the necessary staff training and purchased the photo taking kit and other equipment needed to provide the full service. Gilpin’s office (in the Old Courthouse in Central City) can also report lost passports. There are a couple of options for passports. Most folks are familiar with the book form of passport. There is now a passport “card” as well. Its use began in 2008, specifically designed for people who frequently cross land borders into the United States from Mexico and Canada. It is not accepted for air travel. The card is less expensive than the passport book. There is an “execution” (service) fee of $25 for either form of passport. After that, an additional “passport” fee for the book is $60 for minors (under 16) and $75 for adults; the card is an additional $10 for minors and $20 for adults. A book/card combination can be purchased with one execution fee of $25 and additional passport fee of $70 for minors and $95 for adults. The photo, if done by the Clerk, is another $10 (no false mustaches allowed) – or people can bring their own photos, as long as they meet passport standards. To obtain a passport for the first time, the Clerk will require a driver’s license (if applicable) and a birth certificate. The latter may not be a photocopy. If the original document has been lost, it can be replaced by the State Health Department. Official documentation will also be needed for any name change – a marriage license, for example. (Again, no photocopies.) The documents will be sent to the National Passport Processing Center in Los Angeles and are returned via mail after the passport has been issued. The passport usually comes first, said Trujillo, and then the birth certificate comes back separately. It generally takes four to six weeks to obtain the passport, although there’s an expedited service available for an additional $60 (plus overnight delivery fees) which cuts that time in half. Customers paying by check will need to write two checks, one for the execution fee and one for the passport fee. Gilpin County retains the $25 execution fee and forwards the passport fee to the U.S. Department of State. Kays figures to recoup the cost of the camera equipment (less than $1,000) via the fees. Eventually the passport service will provide additional revenue for the County. Trujillo said Douglas County took in $77,000 the first year they offered the service. Larimer County had taken in $55,000 over two years. The fees are the same everywhere. Kays warned of an upcoming fee increase, “But we don’t know yet when or how much.” With that in mind, and with local service available, Gilpinites who need passports should act now. Visit www.travelstate.gov/passports for general passport information or call the Gilpin County Clerk’s office at 303-582-5321 with questions.