California · Child travel consent letter
California minor travel consent letter signing requirements
A parent's written permission for a child under 18 to travel with one parent, another adult or a group — the letter an airline, cruise line or border officer asks to see.
Verified against the current statute text on 2026-09-19 by Michael Seutin, California Notary Public, commission 2518648.
Witnesses
None required by any California statute.
Notary
No law requires it. The airline agent, the cruise line and the border officer are who expect it, and a notarized letter is what they are used to seeing.
The statute
No California statute governs this letter. U.S. Customs and Border Protection guidance and the destination country's entry rules are the sources.
Recording
Never recorded. The original travels with the child.
What California law requires
There is no California statute and no official form for a child travel consent letter. Nothing in state law makes it required. What makes it necessary is the officer or agent who asks for it, and a child can be refused boarding or held at a border while a parent is telephoned.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection advises that a child under 18 travelling without both parents carry a note from the absent parent or parents giving permission for the trip, with the parent's contact details, and suggests the note be notarized. Notarization is what turns a letter anyone could have typed into one an officer can rely on.
Several countries require the letter on entry or exit for a child leaving with one parent, and some prescribe their own form. The destination country's consulate page is the source; a template site is not.
The notary's certificate proves who signed and that they signed willingly. It does not vouch for the trip, the custody arrangement or the child. The letter itself must carry the facts: the child's full name, date of birth and passport number, who the child is travelling with, where and when, the absent parent's consent, and a phone number an officer can call.
From the signings
The consent letter is the one document families bring the night before a flight, and the one a notary can do at a kitchen table in ten minutes. The parent who is staying home must be the one in front of me — the travelling parent cannot sign the other's consent, however obvious the plan is.
At the signing
- 1
The parent who is not travelling is the one who signs in front of the notary. The travelling parent cannot sign the other parent's consent.
- 2
If the child travels with a non-parent — a grandparent, a coach, a friend's family — both parents sign.
- 3
A parent with sole custody signs alone and carries a copy of the custody order with the letter.
- 4
Bring the child's passport so the number in the letter matches it.
- 5
Sign it as an acknowledgment or a jurat as the airline or country asks; if nobody specified, an acknowledgment is the norm.
Common questions
No California law requires it. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recommends one for any child under 18 travelling without both parents, and some countries require it on entry or exit. In practice the airline or the border officer decides whether the trip continues.
No statute says so. CBP suggests it, and a notarized letter is what officers are used to. It is the difference between a letter and evidence.
The one who is not travelling. If the child travels with someone who is not a parent, both parents sign. A parent with sole custody signs alone and carries the custody order.
Sources
General information about how a document is executed under California law, not advice about your situation. A notary public is not an attorney and cannot choose a document for you or fill one in. The full disclaimer.