Child Travel Consent Letter: Template and When You Need One

A child travel consent letter is signed permission from a parent who is not on the trip for their child to travel abroad with another adult or alone. The US does not require one for a child to leave, but border officers and airlines in some countries ask for it. Here is when your child needs one, who signs, what goes in it and how to notarize it, with a fill-in template and a full sample.

When a child needs a travel consent letter

A consent letter shows a border officer or airline agent that the parents who are not there agree to the trip. Many countries check this to prevent international child abduction, and USA.gov says a child traveling alone or with only one parent or legal guardian may need a letter of consent. Carry one when the child travels:

• With one parent, even if the other parent joins for part of the trip.
• With grandparents, other relatives or friends.
• Alone, including on an airline’s unaccompanied minor service.
• With a school, sports, music or religious group.
• Across a land border, even for a day trip.

Canada draws the age line at 19: any child under 19 traveling abroad without both parents should carry a letter, and foreign officials may still ask for one when a child is 16 or older and can get an adult passport.

The letter adds to the documents a child carries abroad and never replaces them: every child, infants included, needs their own travel documents, such as a passport, to enter the US, plus a visa where the destination requires one.

Flights within the US are a different case. TSA asks children under 18 for no ID, so the Real ID rules at airport security apply to the adults in your party, and the airline sets any rules of its own for a child flying alone.

Who signs the consent letter

Every parent or legal guardian who is not traveling signs, whether the parents are married, separated or divorced. Canada recommends a letter even when a parenting order lets one parent make travel decisions alone, because border officers and airline staff can still ask whether everyone agrees.

Situation	Who signs	Also carry	What officials ask for
With one parent	The parent staying home	A copy of the child’s birth certificate	South Africa wants a Parental Consent Affidavit from the other parent named on the birth certificate
With grandparents, a relative or a friend	Both parents	Birth certificate, plus copies of both parents’ IDs for South Africa	DHS asks an adult escorting a child without the parents for a letter from both parents
Alone	Both parents	The airline’s unaccompanied minor or consent form, if it has one	South Africa also wants a letter and an ID copy from the adult receiving the child
School, sports or religious group	Both parents, giving consent to the organizer	Birth certificate	CBP lets US citizen children under 19 in a group enter by land or sea from Canada or Mexico on a birth certificate and the group’s letter; South Africa accepts a principal’s affidavit for school tours
Divorced or separated, shared custody	The parent not traveling	A copy of the custody order or parenting agreement	South Africa requires both parents’ consent when custody is shared
Sole custody	No letter from the other parent: DHS says the court custody document can replace it	A copy of the court custody document	Canada still recommends a letter from the other parent where that is possible and safe
One parent has died	The surviving parent, if the child travels without them	A copy of the death certificate	Canada and South Africa both name the death certificate

Carry a copy of any court order about custody or travel with the letter. If you are the parent being asked to sign and you fear the child will not be brought back, Canada’s advice is to see a lawyer before you sign anything.

What to include in a child travel consent letter

Canada says there are no official guidelines for a consent letter’s content or format, but its consent letter guidance lists the core contents and publishes a template. USA.gov suggests a sentence of permission. Fit these 8 parts on 1 page:

1. The child: full name, date of birth and passport number.
2. Each parent or guardian: full name, address, phone number and email.
3. The accompanying adult: full name, address, phone number, passport number and relationship to the child.
4. The trip: each destination, the departure and return dates, and the flights.
5. Where the child will stay: an address for each stop.
6. The permission: a plain sentence such as USA.gov’s “I acknowledge that my child is traveling outside the country with [the name of the adult] with my permission.”
7. An optional medical line: authority for the adult to approve emergency treatment, which neither Canada’s list nor USA.gov’s includes.
8. The signature block: each signing parent’s signature, printed name and date, with space for a notary.

Copy the passport number from the passport the child will actually travel on. If that passport expires too soon for the destination, renew it before anyone signs, because the new passport carries a new number and the letter has to match it.

Brothers and sisters traveling together can share one letter, and Canada recommends separate letters for children who split up for part of the trip. USA.gov prefers the letter in English.

Child travel consent letter template

Copy this, replace each bracketed field and delete any line that does not apply. The parent or parents who are not traveling sign it.

[Parent’s full name]
[Street address, city, postal code, country]
[Phone number], [email]

[City], [date]

To whom it may concern,

I, [parent’s full name], am the [mother, father or legal guardian] of [child’s full name], born on [child’s date of birth], holder of [country] passport number [child’s passport number].

I consent to [child’s first name] traveling to [destination countries] from [departure date] to [return date] with [accompanying adult’s full name], [relationship to the child], holder of [country] passport number [adult’s passport number], who lives at [adult’s address] and can be reached at [adult’s phone number].

Travel details: [departure date, from airport to airport]; [return date, from airport to airport].

[Child’s first name] will stay at [address for each stop, with dates].

I acknowledge that my child is traveling outside the country with [accompanying adult’s full name] with my permission.

I also authorize [accompanying adult’s full name] to consent to emergency medical treatment for [child’s first name] during this trip.

I can be reached during the trip at [phone number] and [email].

[Signature]
[Parent’s full name], [date]

[Second parent’s signature, printed name and date, if both parents sign]

[Space for the notary’s certificate, signature and seal]

Sample consent letter for a child traveling with one parent

This is an invented sample. The people, addresses and numbers are not real.

Maria Elena Santos
4418 Ridgewood Drive, Austin, TX 78745, United States
+1 512 555 0148, maria.santos@example.com

Austin, 18 May 2027

To whom it may concern,

I, Maria Elena Santos, am the mother of Daniel Santos Reyes, born on 14 March 2015, holder of US passport number A04817362.

I consent to Daniel traveling to Spain and Portugal from 2 July 2027 to 16 July 2027 with his father, Javier Reyes, holder of US passport number A09253148, who lives with us at the address above and can be reached at +1 512 555 0163.

Travel details: 2 July 2027, Houston IAH to Madrid MAD; 16 July 2027, Lisbon LIS to Houston IAH.

Daniel will stay with his aunt, Lucia Reyes Ortega, at Calle de los Olivos 7, 28019 Madrid, from 2 to 10 July, and at a hotel in central Lisbon, booking reference LX40972, from 10 to 16 July.

I acknowledge that my son is traveling outside the country with Javier Reyes with my permission.

I also authorize Javier Reyes to consent to emergency medical treatment for Daniel during this trip.

I can be reached during the trip at +1 512 555 0148 and maria.santos@example.com.

Maria Elena Santos, signed before the notary
18 May 2027

Notary section: left blank here for the notary’s own certificate, signature and seal.

How to get the consent letter notarized

The US does not require the letter, so it does not require a notary either. USA.gov still prefers a notarized letter, and Canada says any adult may witness the signature but strongly recommends a notary, warning that officers may not accept photocopies or digital versions.

From template to notarized original

1. Ask the embassy or consulate of each country on the route what it wants for a minor, and ask the airline too if the child flies alone.
2. Fill in the template from the bookings, so the dates, flights and passport numbers match.
3. Take the letter, unsigned, and your photo ID to a notary public, and sign in front of them.
4. Have every parent who is not traveling sign, on one letter together or on separate letters.
5. Ask a parent who lives abroad to sign where they are and mail you the original; for a Canadian letter, a consular officer at a Canadian government office abroad can witness it, for a fee.
6. Keep a copy at home and pack the original in your carry-on with the child’s passport and birth certificate.

Consent rules in Canada, Mexico and South Africa

Each country sets its own rules for minors crossing its borders, on the way in and on the way out. These are the published rules of 3 countries, as of October 2026:

Country	Who it covers	What to carry	Notarized?
Canada	Children under 19 traveling abroad without both parents	A letter signed by each parent not traveling, original preferred	Any adult may witness; a notary is strongly recommended
Mexico	Mexican minors, dual US citizens included	Notarized permission to travel without that parent or guardian, or proof of sole custody	Yes
South Africa	South African children and all unaccompanied minors; visa-exempt foreign children are strongly advised to comply	Passport, birth certificate and a Parental Consent Affidavit from the parent not traveling	A sworn affidavit, no older than 6 months

Mexico’s immigration institute, INM, also set up an exit form for minors, the SAM, for Mexican minors and for foreign minors who live in Mexico as residents or students when they travel alone or with adults who are not their parents or guardian. INM’s notice describing the SAM dates from 2015, so check the current form with INM or a Mexican consulate before you go.

Nationality decides which rules apply. Canada notes that a child can be deemed a citizen of a country where a parent is a citizen and may then face that country’s entry and exit rules like any other citizen child, so a child who holds two passports needs both countries’ rules checked. A US citizen child still enters the US on the US passport.