SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF. – The Santa Clara County Library District (SCCLD) is pleased to announce the expansion of the popular U.S. passport services at SCCLD libraries. The Gilroy Library will begin offering U.S. passport services on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. This marks the fourth SCCLD library to become an official passport acceptance facility following Milpitas, Cupertino and Los Altos Libraries. Saratoga Library will also begin passport services later this year.
The County Clerk-Recorder’s Office (CRO) had been the primary agency in charge of accepting passport applications, however that service recently ended. Since July 1, SCCLD has fully absorbed the popular program, and expanding it to additional libraries offers convenience to residents.
“Since January 2022, our libraries have processed more than 19,500 passport applications,” County Librarian Jennifer Weeks said. “This service is in high demand, and our passport facilities offer weekday, weekend, and evening hours, which gives residents greater opportunities to come in and get their passport.”
Santa Clara County Supervisor and Library JPA Board Member Joe Simitian echoed that saying, “If we can make these services available conveniently and locally, that’s a real-world, everyday plus for our residents.”
Services offered include first-time passports for adults and children, replacement of lost, stolen, or damaged passports, opens a new window, renewal of passports issued before the applicant was 16 years of age, and renewal of expired passports issued more than 15 years ago. In addition, we offer passport photo service if you do not have a photo available.
Please visit sccld.org/passport to select a time and location for your appointment, find out what important documents you will need to bring, and applicable fees (checks or money orders only). Please note, appointments must be reserved online, and can be made up to two months in advance. Since this service is in high demand, at times all appointments within the 60-day window are booked, so please plan accordingly. At 12 a.m. midnight, a new day of appointments becomes available at the end of the 60-day booking window. If you need a passport sooner, please visit the San Francisco Passport Agency website, opens a new window.
Once submitted, passport applications typically take between six to eight weeks to be processed. For an additional cost, there is expedited service which takes two to three weeks for processing. Passports will be mailed directly to the applicant from the U.S. Department of State. Please watch this video tutorial, opens a new window to help guide you through the process.
A SCCLD library card is not required for passport services, but it highly recommended for those who would like to access free travel-related materials at all of our libraries and the Online Library. This includes books, magazines and online resources about travel, culture, food, and languages.
Cupertino Library Passport Hours:
Tuesday and Wednesday 1 p.m. – 8 p.m. (closed 4 – 5 p.m.)
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed 1 – 2 p.m.)
Gilroy Library Passport Hours:
Tuesday and Wednesday 1 p.m. – 8 p.m. (closed 4 – 5 p.m.)
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed 1 – 2 p.m.)
Los Altos Library Passport Hours:
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed 1 – 2 p.m.)
Wednesday and Thursday 1 p.m. – 8 p.m. (closed 4 – 5 p.m.)
Milpitas Library Passport Hours:
Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed 1 – 2 p.m.)
Monday and Tuesday 1 p.m. – 8 p.m. (closed 4 – 5 p.m.)
About the Santa Clara County Library District
The Santa Clara County Library District (SCCLD) promotes knowledge, ideas, and cultural enrichment. Founded in 1914, its collection includes more than 2.3 million books, videos, CDs, DVDs/Blu-rays, audiobooks, eBooks and extensive online resources accessible from anywhere with an internet connection.
The Library Journal has repeatedly recognized SCCLD as one of America’s Star Libraries, rated it as a 5-Star library in their 2022 Index of Public Library Service, one of only five library systems in the United States with expenditures over $30 million given this honor. In 2014 and 2019, SCCLD won Innovator Awards from the Urban Libraries Council. SCCLD also received a Challenge Award in 2019 from the California State Association of Counties and an Innovative Project of the Year Award (Large District) from the California Special Districts Association in 2020.
SCCLD includes two bookmobiles, an online library, seven community libraries and one branch library, serving the cities of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Saratoga, and the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County. In Calendar Year 2023, SCCLD had over 373,000 library accounts, more than 1.2 million unique website visits, and a circulation of nearly 11.3 million items. Program attendance was over 183,000.
Find the Santa Clara County Library District online: www.sccld.org
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