NOTE: This review is for the City Clerk's Office/Passport Application Processing office located at…read moreCity Hall of Chesapeake.
I was at City Hall this week for an appointment, and while I was waiting, I was chatting it up with the friendly security guard and we got on the topic of passports, as I needed some for my children. He informed me that I could go up to the first floor at the City Clerk's Office to obtain an appointment. I remembered this from last year when I had to obtain one to go back home to Canada, that it was appointment only based, but I remembered the office being at least 4 months out. I ended up walking in at the Norfolk courthouse because I needed it ASAP (only place in the area who processes passport applications in person, on a walk in basis FYI). I was expressing my dread of potentially finding out how far out the appointments were, but with his encouragement, I went up to the first floor to ask. Plus, it's way more convenient for me to process them at City Hall in Chesapeake than in Norfolk. With parking, tight security and the lack of patience of children, City Hall in Chesapeake was a better option for me. Lo and behold, the nice lady told me that they had one in the coming days!!
*Things to note (info current as of June 15/23)*
- appointment only, no walk-ins
- appointments can be made by calling the City Clerk's office (located on the 1st floor) at 757-382-6151
- appointment slots are available on Mondays from 9:00 am - 11:30 am & Thursdays from 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm ONLY
- for your appointment, present yourself at the little office in the corner on the left hand side of the security desk on the ground floor. Top flap of the door will be open if they are open to process applications
- if you are applying for minors, BOTH parents and/or all guardians must be present. If one parent cannot be present, you must obtain some other letter/form that must be notarized
- for the actual application fees, you must have a cheque or money order (US Dept of State)
- you can pay the processing fees by either cheque or card (City of Chesapeake)
- all card transactions will be charged a 2.2% transaction processing fee
- as of this writing, the processing time for the passport is 10-13 weeks for regular processing and 7-9 weeks for expedited (obvi with extra fee). The clerk let me know that the processing center has been especially busy this year with more and more people coming out of the pandemic funk and the eagerness to travel again.
- come prepared with your documents filled out in advance (you can either fill it out online and print) or they do have paper applications right by the processing office
- unlike the Norfolk office, they do not provide photos here, so be sure to obtain those in advance at your nearest pharmacy. We got them done at Walgreens on Hanbury
- just an FYI, in case you didn't know, but this is very stressful for me, but they take the original document of the individual (especially if it's your first passport). They took my ORIGINAL citizenship certificate last year and it didn't come for weeks until after my passport arrived solo. Very nerve wracking too, just waiting....my citizenship certificate eventually showed up in a FedEx envelope, with no note, nothing. Just the certificate all by its lonesome.
After losing a small fortune on 3 passport applications (my husband decided to get his done too since his had been expired also), processing fees and the photos, the clerk processed them quickly and efficiently. So now we wait.
Not sure where we'll end up, but at least we'll be ready to go, once we receive their passports...
HUGE shout out to the security guard for the recommendation and encouragement, and to the clerk for being so kind in trying her hardest to find an appointment that best suited our schedule and circumstance. She ended up being the one to process the applications a few days later. She set me up for success from the get go (she had provided me a small paper with a list of all the reqs and docs I needed at the time of making my appointment). They were both so nice, friendly and so helpful!
If you live in Chesapeake and you need a passport, go to City Hall! But think ahead and make that appointment now!
Stay safe, Friends, and safe travels!