GREEN COVE SPRINGS – As flyers become more comfortable with hitting the friendly skies again, the demand for passports also is starting to soar.

While it may take another year or two to match the 2018 demand for passports, Clay County Clerk and Comptroller Tara Green said her office has seen a significant increase now that the world is slowly moving from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We saw a huge drop off in 2020 because of COVID and people not traveling because of all the requirements,” Green said. “And now we're starting to see an uptick in people applying for passports. It’s not as popular as it used to be, but I would anticipate within the next few years we'll get right back to where we were.”

The process to apply for a new passport is time-consuming, both in preparation and delivery. Even if a resident has proper identification and an application, it still can take up to 18 weeks to receive the travel papers required to enter other countries – and then to return home.

According to the passport tab at clayclerk.com, a travel passport book is required for all U.S. citizens, including children, who depart the country by air between and destinations outside North, South and Central American countries. A passport card is required for land and sea travel between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean.

Applicants must fill out the DS-11 form that’s found at any post office, the clerk’s office or any U.S, Embassy. An applicant also will need a copy of a birth certificate or an original certificate of naturalization, a driver’s license and a check, a check or money order and a passport photo that can be taken at CVS or Walgreen’s. If a child is applying, a consent form also must e completed. Also, both parents should be present when delivering the application to the clerk’s office.

Residents must get a reservation to deliver applications at the clerk’s office, Green said.

The standard service for adults ranges from $30 for a card) to $130 for a book to $160 for both card and book. There is a $35 fee added as well. Expedited service for adults ranges from $90 a card to $208 a book) to $238 for card and book. There is a $61 fee added as well.

Expedited service can still take as long as 12 weeks.

The clerk’s offices are located at the main courthouse at 825 North Orange Ave. in Green Cove Springs and at 1590 Park Ave. in Orange Park.

“We ask them to do a lot of that work ahead of time and just bring it in so that we can review it, make sure it's correct,” Green said. “And then you know, they sign it in front of us and pay for it so that it can get expedited as quickly as possible.

“There are times when people don't understand they can’t walk in blindly. They need to make an appointment. Sometimes they got to make another appointment to get it done correctly because they didn't bring the right paperwork or don't have a photo correct photo, that kind of stuff.”

But that’s just the beginning. The federal government’s Passport Services Office starts its process on the day it gets the information. But it still takes months for an applicant to receive their passport.

“I think what they're most surprised about is the turnaround time, which we, unfortunately, is not established by my office,” Green said. “It's by the Department of State but because of the amount of work that has to go on embedding the applications.

“Make it clear what's required to get the passport, get it done, get it in and get it turned around, you know, I think it's a 12 to 16 week time period. We get a lot of people from other counties coming into Clay County just because of the accessibility that we have.”

Green is the first Clerk of Court in Clay County history, and she was selected as the 2015 Florida Clerk of the Year. She oversees more than 90 clerks who help residents with the court system, file official records and manage the comptroller's financial duties.