Released on August 19, 2003
Bureau of Public
Affairs
U.S. Department of
State
As of today, August 19th, 2003, the
public can obtain passport information by calling a toll-free telephone number.
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC), the Department’s
single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information, has
moved from 1-900 fee-for-service to toll-free service. This change is the
result of a new contract with AT&T that greatly expands the public’s access
to passport information.
The new, general telephone number
is 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778). For TDD/TTY users, the number is 1-888-874-7793. Live operators
are now available on weekdays from 8:00am to 8:00pm, Eastern Time. Twenty-four
hour, 7-day access to automated information continues to be available. Callers
to the previous, fee-for-service 1-900 number will, at no charge, be directed
to call the new number.
Another significant improvement
will be the addition of e-mail access to the National Passport Information
Center at npic@state.gov.
Typically, a response will be sent to e-mail inquiries within 24-hours during
normal business days. This service expansion complements the vast amount of
passport and other international travel information readily available on the Department
of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs website, http://travel.state.gov.
Released on August
19, 2003