Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240)
A Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), Form FS-240, documents that a child born abroad was a U.S. citizen at birth. An original CRBA is obtained only by reporting the birth to a U.S. embassy or consulate. The application is Form DS-2029, made before the child's 18th birthday. The application fee is $100. A CRBA is not a birth certificate and is not proof of the child's legal parents or custody.
What the document is, and what it is not
A Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) documents that a child was a U.S. citizen at birth. The Department of State issues CRBAs to children under age 18 who were born abroad and acquired U.S. citizenship or nationality at birth through their parent or parents.
Three limits on what the document proves are stated by the Department of State on the same page and are repeated here because they are commonly misunderstood:
- A CRBA is not a birth certificate. The foreign birth record remains the record of the birth facts.
- A CRBA is not proof of the child's legal parents or custody.
- The names on the CRBA include the parents who have a genetic or gestational connection to the child, and the parent or parents passing U.S. citizenship to the child must have their names on the CRBA. A parent passing U.S. citizenship may approve the other parent not passing citizenship to have their name on the CRBA.
The issued document is Form FS-240, Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America. The application form is a different form: Form DS-2029. Do not confuse the two numbers. DS-2029 is the application; FS-240 is the report that is issued.
Original application only: the embassy or consulate
An original CRBA is obtained only by reporting the birth to a U.S. embassy or consulate. The Department of State's replacement page states this boundary directly: a person can only get an original CRBA by reporting the birth to the local U.S. embassy or consulate, and the embassy or consulate will then issue the CRBA.
This guide covers the original application only. Replacement, amendment, and additional copies are a different procedure handled by the Department's Vital Records Office, using a different form (Form DS-5542). Do not use the replacement procedure to seek an original CRBA, and do not use the original-application steps in this guide to seek a replacement. No replacement fee, mailing address, or processing time is stated in this guide, because that procedure is outside its scope.
The Department of State does not issue CRBAs to naturalized U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. A CRBA records citizenship acquired at birth. A person born in a U.S. territory cannot get a CRBA because the person was not born abroad; the Department lists the territories and dates on the birth-abroad page and directs those applicants to apply for a U.S. passport instead.
Who applies, and the age limit
The child's parent or parents or legal guardian must complete Form DS-2029, Application for Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America. The Foreign Affairs Manual states that a consular officer may issue Form FS-240 for any child eligible for it on application made at any time before the child's 18th birthday, and that requests for application after age 18 should be directed to the Department's adjudication office. Either parent, including an alien parent, may execute the application. No other persons are authorized to apply on a child's behalf, except with notarized authorization from the parent or parents or guardian, or with specific case-by-case authorization in exceptional cases.
The Department's public page states the same age limit in shorter form: CRBAs are issued to children under age 18. This guide does not state any procedure for a person age 18 or older seeking a first CRBA, because the manual directs those requests to a different office and no public procedure for them was verified on a page opened for this guide.
How to apply
The Department of State states that a person can apply online at most U.S. embassies and consulates, by visiting the U.S. embassy or consulate website to get the steps that apply at that post, or by visiting MyTravelGov to start the process of applying online. Embassy and consulate steps differ by post. Follow the steps published by the post with consular authority over the country of birth. This guide does not state a single appointment system, payment method, or document-upload sequence, because those steps are post-specific and no single post's checklist was verified as the general procedure on a primary page opened for this guide.
Form DS-5507 may also be needed. The Department states it may be needed if any of these situations apply:
- One of the parents is not a U.S. citizen.
- The U.S. citizen parent passing citizenship to the child is not present. The parent who is not present should complete the form and record the periods of time spent in the United States.
- The child was born out of wedlock and the father is a U.S. citizen or non-citizen national. The child's father must sign the form at a U.S. embassy or consulate, in front of a U.S. notary public, or in front of a local official who registers births or administers oaths.
The DS-5507 situations are stated here exactly as the Department states them. This guide does not add attendance rules for parents, because no attendance rule was verified on a primary page opened for this guide. Where a parent cannot be present, the DS-5507 route above is the mechanism the Department's page names.
Fee
The application fee is $100. The Schedule of Fees for Consular Services at 22 CFR 22.1 lists, as item 7: "Application for Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States — $100." That fee is the CRBA application fee only. It is separate from any passport application fee. This guide does not state a combined total with a passport application, because no combined figure was verified on a primary page opened for this guide, and passport fees depend on the document and the applicant's age.
Whether the child acquired citizenship at birth
A CRBA does not create citizenship. It records citizenship acquired at birth under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Department's citizenship page states the requirements by family situation, and the applicable situation must be identified before applying. The rules below are the Department's statements on that page. "In wedlock" means the parents were legally married to each other at the time of the child's birth, or the child was born within 300 days of the end of the marriage by death or divorce.
| Family situation | Physical-presence or residence rule stated by the Department |
|---|---|
| Born in wedlock to two U.S. citizen parents | At least one parent resided in the United States or its territories before the child's birth |
| Born in wedlock to a U.S. citizen parent and a U.S. national parent | The U.S. citizen parent resided in the United States or its territories for a continuous period of one year at any time before the child's birth |
| Born in wedlock to a U.S. citizen parent and a foreign-citizen parent, child born on or after November 14, 1986 | The U.S. citizen parent was physically present in the United States or its territories for five years before the child's birth, with at least two of those years after age 14 |
| Born in wedlock to a U.S. citizen parent and a foreign-citizen parent, child born between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986 | The U.S. citizen parent was physically present for 10 years before the child's birth, with at least five of those years after age 14 |
| Born out of wedlock to a U.S. citizen mother, child born between December 24, 1952 and June 11, 2017 | The mother was a U.S. citizen at the time of the child's birth and was physically present for a continuous period of one year before the child's birth |
| Born out of wedlock to a U.S. citizen mother, child born on or after June 12, 2017 | The mother was a U.S. citizen at the time of the child's birth and was physically present for five years, with at least two of those years after age 14 |
| Born out of wedlock to a U.S. citizen father | The father had a blood relationship established by evidence, was a U.S. citizen at the time of the child's birth, agreed in writing (unless deceased) to provide financial support until age 18, and, while the child is under 18, legitimation, written acknowledgment of paternity under oath, or a court establishment of paternity applies; plus the applicable physical-presence rule for the father's situation |
In every situation, the child must also meet the other requirements the Department states, including a genetic or gestational connection to at least one parent and both parents in the marriage showing a parental relationship to the child, shown by medical, tax, educational, or other documents showing the individual acted in a parental role. If that parental-relationship requirement is not met, the child may be able to obtain citizenship as a child born out of wedlock, according to the Department's page.
This guide states the Department's rules. It does not decide whether a particular child meets them. Evidence of physical presence is the evidence that shows the parent's periods in the United States, and the DS-5507 form records those periods where it applies. No list of acceptable presence evidence beyond that is stated, because no such list was verified on a primary page opened for this guide.
What this guide does not state
No processing time is stated, because no processing time for an original CRBA was verified on a primary page opened for this guide. No post-specific document checklist, appointment wait, or payment method is stated, because those steps are published by each embassy or consulate. No statement is made about filing a first passport application at the same appointment, because no primary page opened for this guide states that step. No fee other than the $100 CRBA application fee is stated.
For a first U.S. passport, see How to Apply for a First U.S. Passport. For the other federal identity documents, see the Federal Identity Documents by Situation directory.
Source
Sources: U.S. Department of State, Birth of U.S. Citizens and Non-Citizen Nationals Abroad, travel.state.gov; U.S. Department of State, Obtaining U.S. Citizenship for a Child Born Abroad, travel.state.gov; U.S. Department of State, Replace or Amend a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, travel.state.gov (boundary statement that an original CRBA is obtained only by reporting the birth to the local embassy or consulate; replacement procedure not covered); Foreign Affairs Manual 8 FAM 506.1, Who Is Eligible to Apply for a CRBA, fam.state.gov (Form DS-2029, before the 18th birthday, who may execute the application); 22 CFR 22.1, Schedule of Fees, item 7, ecfr.gov ($100 CRBA application fee). Facts verified 2026-11-03. Omissions: no processing time, no post-specific checklist or payment method, no attendance rule for parents, and no passport-at-the-same-appointment statement were verified on a primary page opened for this guide, and none is stated. The replacement/amendment procedure (Form DS-5542) is named only to keep it separate from the original application.
This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to the U.S. embassy or consulate or the Department of State.
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