Passport Acceptance Offices in Colorado
Most of Colorado's passport paperwork gets handled along the Front Range, the urban ribbon running from Fort Collins down through Denver, Aurora, and Lakewood to Colorado Springs and Pueblo.
🔎 Find an office near you
153 cities
📖 About Colorado
Most of Colorado's passport paperwork gets handled along the Front Range, the urban ribbon running from Fort Collins down through Denver, Aurora, and Lakewood to Colorado Springs and Pueblo. That's where the population sits, and it's where the densest run of the state's 229 acceptance offices, spread across 153 cities and towns, is easiest to reach on a weekday lunch break.
Head west and the picture changes. Grand Junction anchors the Western Slope, while resort communities in the high country see a steady stream of international skiers and adventure travelers who realize a little late that their passport needs sorting. Between the plains and the peaks, every one of Colorado's 64 counties has at least one place to submit a first-time application, so you rarely have to leave your corner of the state to get started.
Colorado is also unusual in a way that matters when a trip is close: it is home to one of the country's in-person passport agencies, the Colorado Passport Agency in Centennial, just southeast of Denver. Residents from Wyoming, Utah, western Nebraska and Kansas, and the Dakotas regularly make the drive here for urgent, in-person help that their own states can't offer.
🗺️ Areas covered
📝 How applying works
Most passport acceptance offices are U.S. Post Offices, public libraries, and county or city clerk offices that act as official acceptance facilities. You apply in person using Form DS-11 if you are getting a passport for the first time, if your previous passport was lost, stolen, or damaged, if it was issued more than 15 years ago, or if you were under 16 when it was issued.
Fill out the form ahead of time but do not sign it — a passport agent must watch you sign. Some facilities accept walk-ins during set passport hours, while others require an appointment, so it is worth calling the office listed on your city’s page before you go.
🎒 What to bring
💳 Fees
| Service | To U.S. Dept. of State | To the facility |
|---|---|---|
| Adult passport book (age 16+) | $130 | $35 |
| Adult passport card (age 16+) | $30 | $35 |
| Adult book + card | $160 | $35 |
| Child passport book (under 16) | $100 | $35 |
| Child passport card (under 16) | $15 | $35 |
| Child book + card | $115 | $35 |
The application fee is paid to the U.S. Department of State; the $35 execution (acceptance) fee is paid to the facility where you apply. Expedited service adds $60, and faster return delivery is available for a small extra charge. Fees are set nationally and are the same at every acceptance office in the country.
⏱️ Processing times
As of 2026, routine passport applications take about 4–6 weeks to process, and expedited applications about 2–3 weeks, counted from the day the State Department receives your application. Add roughly 2 weeks for mailing on each end.
The busiest season runs from late winter through summer, so apply between October and December when you can. If you are traveling within 14 days, you will need an appointment at a regional passport agency rather than a local acceptance facility.
💡 Good to know
An acceptance office and a passport agency are two different things. The 229 acceptance offices scattered around Colorado, most of them inside post offices and county clerk counters, take your first-time application and send it off; the Centennial agency handles urgent, in-person cases on a tighter timeline. For a routine trip planned months out, an acceptance office near you is all you need.
Applicants under 16 must appear in person with both parents or legal guardians, so plan for the whole family to be there. Many offices work by appointment and keep shorter hours than the building around them, and processing times are set by the State Department nationwide rather than by any individual Colorado location.