Where can you notarize Form DS-3053 for your child's passport in Phoenix?

In Phoenix, any Arizona notary public can notarize Form DS-3053, including Didi at Puente Grande: the parent who can’t go to the passport appointment brings the form unsigned and a current ID, swears to it and signs in front of the notary public, and attaches a photocopy of the front and back of that ID. The consent is good for 90 days.

It is the State Department’s “Statement of Consent,” and it goes with your child’s passport application, Form DS-11, when one parent, or both, can’t appear with the child (DS-3053, edition 10-2024). Didi notarizes in person in Phoenix, in English or Spanish, and doesn’t fill in or write the consent for you (A.R.S. § 41-273(A)). What to bring is on our Spanish-speaking notary public in Phoenix page.

When do you need Form DS-3053, and when don’t you?

You need it when your child is under 16 and one of the parents or legal guardians can’t come to the appointment. Both must appear with the child; if one or both can’t, they submit this form or a separate statement, signed and sworn before a passport authorizing officer or a notary public (DS-3053, p. 1). At 16 and 17, one parent being aware is enough, though the officer can ask for the other’s written consent.

The form’s own note says it may not be needed if the applying parent shows evidence of sole authority: the other parent’s death certificate, a court order granting sole legal custody, or a birth certificate listing only one parent. For a parent who can’t be reached, the form names Form DS-5525 or a statement under penalty of perjury explaining why (DS-3053, p. 1). Which one is your situation is a legal question, for a family-law attorney.

Which rules on the form can cost you a second appointment?

The ones to watch: signing early, a date that doesn’t match, a notary public who is a relative, and the ID photocopy left at home. All of them are on the form.

Rule	What it says	Source
Sign only in front of the notary public	”Stop at Section 4” and wait for the passport officer or the notary public	DS-3053, p. 1
Same date	Your date and the notary public’s date must match	DS-3053, p. 1
Not a relative	The notary public “must not be related” to the person signing	DS-3053, pp. 1 and 2
ID photocopy	Front and back of the photo ID you showed	DS-3053, p. 1
Good for 90 days	From the date the notary public signed	DS-3053, pp. 1 and 2
No corrections	Black ink; if you make an error, a new form	DS-3053, header
No conditions	Covers book and card unless you write “issue passport book only” or “issue passport card only” in Section 3	DS-3053, p. 2
No blank lines (Arizona)	A sworn statement with blanks can’t be notarized; write N/A	Manual, p. 28; A.R.S. § 41-253(B)

Table source: Form DS-3053, edition 10-2024; Arizona Notary Public Reference Manual, October 2026, p. 28.

In Section 4 you swear that what you wrote is true, so the notary public puts you under oath and then you sign in front of her (manual, pp. 26 and 27). By video call? Not with us: Didi notarizes in person in Phoenix.

What ID will an Arizona notary public accept when you sign the DS-3053?

A current photo ID issued by a government in the United States: a U.S. passport, a driver license or ID card from any state, a U.S. military ID, or another federal, state or tribal government ID with your signature or your photo and physical description (A.R.S. § 41-255(B)). A consular ID (matrícula consular) works if it was issued with biometric verification, such as fingerprints (A.R.S. § 41-5001; manual, p. 17).

A Mexican passport on its own doesn’t qualify for this document: Arizona accepts it, with U.S. immigration papers, only for a real estate sale or loan (A.R.S. § 41-255(C)). With no ID that works, a credible witness can identify you: someone who knows you personally, is known to the notary public or shows their own ID from the list above, swears you are who you say, and signs the journal (A.R.S. § 41-255(B)(2); manual, p. 18).

Which ID works for both the notary public and the passport counter?

Pick an ID that works in both places, because its photocopy travels with the application: the passport counter takes a U.S. or foreign passport or a matrícula consular (Spanish-language card); the Arizona notary public goes by the list above, and a biometric matrícula works for both. Green card, work permit, mobile ID and the other cases: what ID an Arizona notary accepts.

Notice required by Arizona law (A.R.S. § 41-273)

I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in this state. I am not allowed to draft legal records, give advice on legal matters, including immigration, or charge a fee for those activities.

No soy abogada con licencia para ejercer la abogacía en este estado. No estoy autorizada para redactar documentos legales, dar asesoría sobre asuntos legales, incluyendo inmigración, ni cobrar por esas actividades.

Didilia De La O, Notary Public, Arizona

What if the other parent is in Mexico or another state?

They sign in front of a notary public where they live, under the same rules: no signing early, the same date, the ID photocopy front and back, and the 90 days run from that date. Then they send you the original with the copy.

Outside the United States there is a list: in certain countries the DS-3053 must be notarized at a U.S. embassy or consulate, not by a local notary (DS-3053, p. 1). The State Department’s list dated October 1, 2026, read on October 21, names Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, among others; Mexico isn’t on it (travel.state.gov). Check it the same day, because it can change.

The form exists only in English. If the person signing reads Spanish, we translate the form for you so they know what they’re swearing to. Nobody at Puente Grande fills it in or decides the answers (A.R.S. § 41-273(A)).

Where do you submit the passport application in Phoenix after notarizing?

At a passport acceptance facility, in person, with your child and the notarized DS-3053. A passport for a child under 16 is always applied for in person, is valid for 5 years and can’t be renewed (travel.state.gov).

In Maricopa County, the Clerk of the Superior Court takes applications by appointment only, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 601 W. Jackson St. and 18380 N. 40th St. in Phoenix, 14264 W. Tierra Buena Ln. in Surprise, and 222 E. Javelina Ave. in Mesa; appointments open no more than 60 days ahead (Clerk, Passports; locations and hours).

For a child under 16, the Clerk lists book $135, card $50, both $150, each including the $35 fee of the office that accepts the application; the rest goes to the State Department by check or money order (Clerk, Passports; Passport Fees). The Clerk doesn’t take photos. Post Offices also accept applications by appointment, for the same $35, plus $15 for the photo (USPS; USPS locator).

How do you line up the dates?

Book the passport appointment first and notarize afterward: the Clerk’s appointments open up to 60 days ahead and the consent lasts 90, so you have room.

If you travel in the next 14 days, or need a foreign visa in the next 28, the State Department takes appointments at its agencies (appointment page, last updated October 15, 2026); in Arizona that is the Western Passport Center, 7373 East Rosewood Street, Tucson, AZ 85710, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., by appointment only and with no fee for the appointment. For a child under 16, its page says both parents come with the child (Western Passport Center).

Does the DS-3053 work for your child’s Mexican passport?

No. For a child’s Mexican passport, the consent is the permiso OP7 and it is given at the Consulado General de México en Phoenix, not before an Arizona notary public. Both parents complete it, or whoever holds patria potestad (parental authority) or guardianship; the name on their ID must match the child’s birth certificate (acta de nacimiento) exactly, and the permission must be used within the following 90 calendar days (Consulado de México en Phoenix, OP7, updated January 21, 2025).

According to the consulate’s page, a parent in Mexico gives it at the closest Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores passport office, or before a fedatario público there, whose certified copy must be used within 30 calendar days; one in another U.S. state, at the closest Mexican consulate. A notarization in Arizona doesn’t replace it. Is your child traveling to Mexico without one parent? That’s a different document: the travel consent letter for Mexico.

Get your DS-3053 notarized with Didi in Phoenix

Didi notarizes the DS-3053 in person in Phoenix, in English or Spanish. Bring the form with Sections 1, 2 and 3 filled in and Section 4 unsigned, your current ID, and the photocopy of its front and back. Arizona caps the fee at $10 per notary public signature (A.A.C. R2-12-1102, in the Secretary of State’s manual, pp. 24 and 53), and we tell you the total before the appointment.

Message us on WhatsApp at (602) 332-9460 with the date of your passport appointment, the ID the person signing will bring, and whether you want the form translated into Spanish. Prefer to talk? Call us, or use the contact form; we reply to most inquiries within 1 hour during business hours. Read our testimonials, and what else we notarize on notary public services.

What this guide does not answer

This guide doesn’t tell you whether you need the other parent’s consent, whether you have sole authority, what to do if they refuse or can’t be found (that’s where the DS-5525 comes in), or whether the State Department will issue the passport. That is legal advice, or the passport office’s decision.

For custody, talk to a family-law attorney; for the process, the form prints the National Passport Information Center’s number, 1-877-487-2778. For immigration, an immigration attorney or an accredited representative of an organization recognized by the Department of Justice; EOIR publishes the roster of recognized organizations and accredited representatives.