The Brooklyn Public Library ended its passport application services on Friday after being ordered to do so by the federal government.
Last fall, the U.S. Department of State sent cease-and-desist letters to hundreds of nonprofit libraries across the country, telling them they were no longer eligible to take part in the Passport Acceptance Facility Program. The Brooklyn Public Library — the only one of New York City’s three library systems to offer passport services — was among them.
The State Department determined that federal law does not allow non-government nonprofits to collect passport application fees, according to the Associated Press. But nonprofit libraries have been processing passport applications for decades without issue.
“Since 2011, we have processed nearly 300,000 passport applications, providing an accessible service through a trusted neighborhood institution — the public library,” said a BPL spokesperson.
The library reached out to the State Department to begin the partnership because it “seemed like a natural fit” with its existing services, BPL CEO Linda Johnson told Patch in 2011. BPL allowed Brooklynites to apply for passports in-person at the Central and Kings Highway branches for a $35 fee. The library also offered photo services for people who needed appropriate passport photos.
The availability of computers and printers at libraries across the borough may also have eased the application process for those who do not have access at home.
Processing passport applications also generated significant revenue for BPL — tax returns show it brought in $716,450 from passport services in 2023 — but that money “basically sustained the passport services operation,” a BPL spokesperson said.
“In other words, the loss in revenue will not impact other library services,” they clarified.
Impacted libraries in other states relied more heavily on passport-related revenue, and are preparing to cut programs and staff.
Politicians from both parties have attempted to appeal the State Department’s decision, saying the loss of passport services at public libraries will harm constituents and the libraries themselves.
In a Feb. 6 letter, a cadre of 13 congress members — including New York’s senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand — urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to allow libraries to process passport applications at least through the end of 2026.
“For many communities across the country, libraries are the most accessible — and sometimes the only — passport acceptance facilities,” the letter reads. “Their loss will force residents to travel long distances, take unpaid time off work, or forgo access altogether, particularly as demand for passports surges due to Real ID requirements.”
The pols said the State Department’s “interpretation” of the law preventing non-government agencies from handling passport applications “went unenforced for so long,” and said that many of the libraries impacted had been “repeatedly reviewed, certified and reauthorized by the State Department in good standing.”
“In New York, the Brooklyn Public Library has issued over 300,00 passports through its services alone over the last years; failure to extend this deadline will leave massive gaps in passport services,” the letter reads.
Brooklynites can still apply for a passport at many USPS post offices and at the Kings County Clerk’s Office, though it is unclear if they can keep up with the demand left by the library. The Clerk’s Office only accepts passport applications Monday-Friday from 9-11:30 a.m. and from 2-3 p.m., and not all post offices offer passport photo services. Applicants can find search for local Passport Acceptance Facilities on the state department’s website.
As the State Department did not move the deadline, pols are searching for a more permanent solution.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, has introduced a bill in the Senate to amend the federal Passport Act to formally allow nongovernment public libraries to process passport application fees. Schumer, a Brooklynite, is cosponsoring the legislation.
A matching bill has been introduced in the House by Republican John Joyce.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is pushing federal legislation that would require U.S. citizens to show their passports or birth certificates to register to vote. But more than 9% of American citizens don’t have proof of citizenship — like a passport or birth certificate — readily available, according to a 2024 survey by the Brennan Center for Justice.
About half of Americans don’t have a passport at all, with dramatic socioeconomic differences. Only about 21% of people from households earning $50,000 or less per year had valid passports, according to a 2021 YouGov survey, compared to 64% of people from households earning $100,000 or more.
A 2023 survey found that about 34% of Black Americans surveyed had active passports, compared to 42% for white Americans and 55% for Hispanic Americans.
Though an estimated 71% of New York State residents do have an active passport, per the Center for American Progress, that leaves about 5 million New Yorkers without one.
