Child traveling without both parents? Get the authorization before you book.
When a child is not traveling with both parents, the Brazilian Federal Police and the airlines may ask for written consent from the parent who stays behind. Cartório BR prepares the right document for your situation: notarized in Bothell and apostilled when it is headed to Brazil, or ready for a parent in Brazil to sign at a local cartório. No consulate visit and no travel required.
- A document tailored to every trip
- Notarization and apostille in the United States
- Remote service, no consulate visit
The trip is paid for. At the airport, one document is missing.
The child flies to Brazil with the mother. The father stays here. On the way there, nobody asks for anything. On the way back, at boarding in a Brazilian airport, the Federal Police ask for the father's authorization or proof that the child lives in the United States. The family has neither.
Another case: the grandparents come to take their grandson to Brazil for the holidays. At the counter, the airline asks for a letter signed by both parents. The one they have is handwritten and was never notarized, so it is rejected.
Or this one: a teenager flies alone to spend Christmas with family. There is an authorization, but only one parent signed it, and the trip called for both signatures.
The problem is not the rule. It is finding out about it too late.
With time to spare, a travel authorization is a simple document. The day before the flight, with one parent in another country, there is no time left to notarize, apostille, and ship it.
What is a travel authorization for a minor?
It is the document in which the father, mother, or legal guardian gives written permission for the child to travel without them. The child may travel with the other parent, a relative, a trusted adult, or alone.
In Brazil, this authorization is required for any minor under 18 leaving the country without both parents. The signature must be certified at a Brazilian cartório, or the document must be signed at a Brazilian consulate. Unless it states another term, it is valid for two years.
In the United States, airlines and authorities often ask for a notarized consent letter from the parent who is not traveling, and some countries require one.
Cartório BR prepares the right document for each case:
Within the United States: a consent letter in English, notarized at our office, for a child traveling with one parent, with relatives, with another adult, or alone on a domestic flight.
From the United States to Brazil: a bilingual, notarized authorization for departure from the United States and for the return to the country of residence. When the case calls for it, the document receives an apostille so it is valid in Brazil.
From Brazil to the United States, with the parent living here: an authorization in the format accepted by the Federal Police, signed before our notary, apostilled in Washington State, and shipped to Brazil for the child's departure.
From Brazil to the United States, with the parent living in Brazil: Cartório BR prepares the form and walks that parent through having the signature certified at a cartório, so the child can board in Brazil.
Passport issuance consent with travel authorization included: for when the minor needs to obtain or renew a Brazilian passport through the Federal Police while one parent is in the United States. That parent signs the issuance consent before the notary. The document already includes the travel authorization, which will be printed in the passport itself, and is apostilled and sent to Brazil.
For Brazilian families in the United States whose child is traveling:
With one parent
To leave Brazil, a minor under 18 traveling with only the father or only the mother needs the other parent's authorization, with the signature certified or signed at a Brazilian consulate. When the minor lives in the United States and is returning home with one parent, Brazilian rules waive the written authorization, provided residence abroad is documented. Even so, a notarized letter saves you trouble at the counter and is also useful on arrival in the United States.
With grandparents, aunts and uncles, or adult siblings
Under Brazilian rules, both parents must authorize the trip, with certified signatures. When departing from the United States, the airline may ask for a letter signed by both parents, and a notarized version leaves no room for dispute.
With another trusted adult
A teacher, a family friend, the leader of a travel group. The rule is the same as for travel with relatives: authorization from both parents. If that adult is a foreign national living outside Brazil, the law requires prior court authorization, with some exceptions. Our team reviews this scenario before preparing the document.
Alone
A teenager traveling alone, with or without the airline's unaccompanied minor service. Both parents sign. Each airline has its own age and service rules, which the family should confirm when booking.
Getting a passport issued in Brazil
When the child is in Brazil with one parent and the other lives in the United States, the Federal Police require consent from both parents to issue the passport. The parent who is here signs a notarized, apostilled document that already includes the travel authorization.
A missing authorization usually surfaces at boarding.
The family plans the trip for months: tickets, luggage, gifts, the stay at the grandparents' house. The travel authorization never makes the list because nobody asked for it on the way out.
The gap shows up on the return trip, or on the first trip without both parents. The child cannot board, the flight leaves without the family, and the ticket has to be rebooked. Meanwhile, the parent in another country has to rush to a cartório or notary, get the document apostilled, and mail the original. That takes days.
When the trip is from Brazil to the United States and the father or mother lives here, the timeline is even tighter: the document is prepared in the United States, apostilled, and mailed to the child's city. None of this can be done safely in a single week.
Without the authorization, any of these can stall:
- The minor's departure from Brazil
- The return to the United States with only one parent
- The vacation trip with the grandparents
- The school or sports trip
- Issuing or renewing the minor's Brazilian passport
- The teenager's unaccompanied flight
- A connection in another country
Brazilian law requires it. U.S. airlines often ask for it at boarding.
The rule is clear, but every case has its details: who lives where, who accompanies the child, whether the companion is a foreign national, whether the passport already includes the authorization. That is what Cartório BR checks before preparing the document.
Articles 83 to 85 govern travel. Article 84 waives court authorization for travel abroad when the minor travels with both parents, or with one of them and the express authorization of the other in a document with a certified signature. Article 85 requires prior court authorization for a Brazilian-born minor to leave the country with a foreign national who resides abroad.
Governs international travel. Article 1 waives court authorization when the minor travels with both parents; with one parent, holding the other's authorization; or alone or with third parties designated by the parents, holding authorization from both. In all of these cases, the authorization requires a certified signature. Article 2 covers minors who live abroad: when returning to the country of residence with one parent, no written authorization is needed; when traveling alone or with third parties, authorization from both parents with certified signatures is required, and residence is proven by a certificate of residence issued by the consulate within the last two years. Article 8 allows signature certification either in person (por autenticidade) or by comparison with a signature on file (por semelhança), and also accepts an authorization signed before a Brazilian consular officer. Article 10 requires the document to state its validity period; if none is stated, the authorization is valid for two years.
Governs travel within Brazil and applies only to minors under 16. No authorization is needed when the minor travels with grandparents, aunts or uncles, or adult siblings, with the family relationship proven by a document, or when going to a neighboring judicial district (comarca) in the same state or the same metropolitan area. When traveling alone or with another adult, authorization from one parent or the legal guardian is enough, by public deed (escritura pública) or by a private document with a certified signature (Art. 2), valid for two years when no other term is stated (Art. 3).
Article 27 prohibits issuing a passport to a minor under 18 without the express authorization of both parents or the legal guardian, except when one parent has died or has lost parental authority (poder familiar), or when the birth certificate lists only one parent.
A document signed before a notary in the United States is valid in Brazil only with an apostille under the Hague Apostille Convention, which Brazil adopted through Decree No. 8,660/2016. The apostille is issued by the Secretary of State of the state where the notary is commissioned; in our case, Washington State.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) notes that some countries require a consent letter from the parents, sometimes notarized, for a child traveling without them, and advises families to confirm the requirement with the destination country's embassy or consulate.
What you need to send
For a travel authorization within the United States or from the United States to Brazil
- Mother's valid passport, Brazilian or U.S.
- Mother's current proof of address
- Father's valid passport, Brazilian or U.S.
- Father's current proof of address
- Minor's valid passport, Brazilian or U.S. (confirm which one will be used for the trip)
- Minor's birth certificate
- If there is a companion: the companion's valid passport, Brazilian or U.S.
For a travel authorization from Brazil to the United States, signed by the parent who lives here
- Minor's valid Brazilian passport
- Minor's valid U.S. passport
- Minor's birth certificate
- Minor's CPF number (Brazilian individual taxpayer ID)
- Mother's valid passport
- Mother's CPF number
- Mother's proof of address
- Father's valid passport
- Father's CPF number
- Father's proof of address
- If there is a companion: the companion's valid passport, CPF number, and proof of address
For a passport issuance consent with travel authorization included
- Minor's birth certificate
- Minor's CPF number
- Signing parent's valid Brazilian passport
- Signing parent's CPF number
- Signing parent's proof of address
Four steps, without leaving the United States.
You tell us who is traveling and who is staying
Our team asks about the route (within the United States, to Brazil, or from Brazil to the U.S.), who is accompanying the child, and where each parent lives. With that, we determine the format of the document and whether it needs an apostille.
You send the documents via WhatsApp
A photo or copy of the passports and the other documents listed under "What you need to send." Our team checks everything and drafts the authorization.
The parent signs
A parent who lives in the United States signs before the Cartório BR notary, at our Bothell office or at a scheduled appointment. If the authorization is going to Brazil, we also handle the Washington State apostille and ship the original. A parent who lives in Brazil receives the completed form and instructions for having the signature certified at the cartório in their city.
You receive the document ready for the trip
The original, notarized and, when applicable, apostilled, plus a digital copy to keep on your phone. Our team explains where to present the document and how long it remains valid.
Why choose Cartório BR?
Notary and apostille in one place
The authorization is signed before the Cartório BR notary in Bothell and goes straight to the apostille, so you don't have to find another office or figure out on your own how the Secretary of State's process works.
Experience in both countries
Francisco Harto has lived in the United States since 2016 and, starting in 2017, has volunteered with the Brazilian consulate's mobile consular missions. Cartório BR has served the Brazilian community for more than five years, mainly in Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco. That is why our team knows what the Federal Police and the airlines ask for at boarding.
The right document for every case
Travel with only one parent, with relatives, with another adult, or unaccompanied; within the United States, to Brazil, or from Brazil to the United States; with or without a new passport being issued. Each scenario calls for its own wording and its own signatures. Our team sorts this out up front, so you don't sign the wrong document.
A team in the United States and in Brazil
When the signing parent is in Brazil, they receive the form ready to sign, and Cartório BR follows up on the signature certification at the Brazilian cartório and reviews the document before the trip. When the document goes from here to Brazil, our team tracks the shipment until it is delivered.
Mistakes that keep a child from boarding.
Writing the authorization by hand, with no notary or certified signature, and finding out at the counter that it is not accepted.
Getting only one parent's signature when the child is traveling with grandparents, with third parties, or alone, situations in which both must sign.
Notarizing in the United States and forgetting the apostille, which is what makes the document valid in Brazil.
Bringing a single original: the Federal Police keep one original at boarding.
Using an expired authorization, forgetting that a document with no stated term is valid for two years.
Letting the child's passport expire and noticing only while preparing the authorization.
Starting at the last minute, with no time left for the apostille and shipping.
We give you the timeline when we review your case.
The notarized authorization is ready at the appointment where the parent signs. If the document needs an apostille, add the Washington Secretary of State's processing time; expedited service is available for urgent cases. If the original is going to Brazil, add shipping time of 7 to 20 days, depending on the method you choose (see "What you need to send"). The sooner you contact Cartório BR, the cheaper and calmer the shipping. Families who start the week of the flight pay for the fastest shipping and still risk the original not arriving in time.
Frequently asked questions
For the flight back to the United States, CNJ Resolution No. 131/2011 waives written authorization. To qualify, the minor must live abroad, travel with one parent, and have residence proven by a consular certificate issued within the last two years. In practice, a notarized letter from the other parent avoids questions at the airline counter, in Brazil and in the United States. Our team reviews your case and tells you whether it is worth having one.
Travel with one parent: the parent who stays behind. With grandparents, aunts or uncles, another adult, or alone: both parents. When one parent has died or has lost parental authority, the corresponding certificate takes the place of that parent's signature.
Yes, when it is signed before a notary and receives a Hague Convention apostille issued by the Secretary of State. Cartório BR handles both steps. The alternative is signing at the Brazilian consulate, which requires an appointment and a trip to San Francisco or to a mobile consular mission.
For the period stated in the document. If no period is stated, Brazilian rules consider it valid for two years. An authorization included in the child's passport is valid until the passport expires.
No. The parent in the United States signs here, and the document goes to Brazil by mail or, for a trip that starts here, stays with the family. If the parent who needs to sign lives in Brazil, they handle it at the cartório in their city with guidance from Cartório BR.
Without that parent's signature, the way forward is to request court authorization in Brazil. Cartório BR does not replace a judge's decision; our team explains what can be done and which documents may support the request.
No. Travel within Brazil follows a different rule, and the authorization is a different document. For domestic travel, CNJ Resolution No. 295/2019 applies only to minors under 16. They need no authorization when traveling with grandparents, aunts or uncles, or adult siblings, with the relationship proven by a document. When traveling alone or with another adult, authorization from one parent is enough, by public deed or by a document with a certified signature, valid for two years unless it states another term. Our team prepares the document your case requires.
Yes, when the Brazilian passport is issued or renewed, at the parents' request. When one parent is in the United States and the other is in Brazil with the child, that is exactly what the passport issuance consent with travel authorization included is for, signed here and apostilled.
No. Cartório BR is a private document services company with an office in Bothell, Washington. Official acts are performed by the notary, the Secretary of State, Brazilian civil registry offices (cartórios), consulates, and the Federal Police.
Sort out the authorization before you pack, not at the airport.
Is your child traveling with only the father or only the mother, with relatives, with another trusted adult, or alone? Within the United States or between the two countries, Cartório BR prepares the right authorization and takes care of the notarization, the apostille, and the shipping. All you have to do is tell us who is traveling with whom.
Remote service for Brazilians in the United States, with a team in both countries.