PORT TOWNSEND — East Jefferson County residents will have to travel to Sequim to apply for a passport after May 1 — one month before the document — or some other approved document such as an enhanced identification card — will be required to re-enter the United States.
The Jefferson County District Court clerk’s office — the only location in Jefferson County to file passport applications — will stop receiving applications on May 1, said Court Administrator Tracie Wilburn on Friday.
Wilburn said filing the passport applications is creating too heavy a workload, and the decision was made Thursday to stop receiving the applications.
“Our filings are up too high to keep up,” she said.
“Passports are non-mandated, and we have mandated work too high to keep up with, and we can’t do passports anymore.”
On the rise
This year, passport applications are on the rise in Jefferson County.
As of March 1, Wilburn said the District Court clerk’s office has received 211 applications.
In 2008, 856 applications — about 142 every two months — were filed.
Jefferson County Administrator Philip Morley couldn’t be reached for comment.
If no other county department takes up the task of filing passport application, Jefferson County residents who wish to attain a passport — or a passport card, which can be used only to re-enter the United States through land and sea ports — will have to go elsewhere on the Olympic Peninsula.
The closest location to apply for a passport for East Jefferson County residents after May 1 will be Sequim City Hall, 152 W. Cedar St.
The closest locations for West Jefferson County will remain either the Clallam County Auditor’s Office at 223 E. Fourth St. in Port Angeles, the U.S. Post Office at 424 E. First St. in Port Angeles or the Grays Harbor County Clerk at 102 W. Broadway in Montesano.
The wait time for receiving a passport or passport card after filing an application is four to six weeks.
This may change as the June 1 deadline for needing a passport or an enhanced identification card to re-enter the United States at land and sea ports gets closer.
Passports are already needed to re-enter the United States through airports.
People who pay extra can receive a passport in two to three weeks.
Other forms of identification that will be acceptable at land and sea ports after June 1 are:
• A trusted traveler program card such as NEXUS.
• Military identification with official travel orders.
• A U.S. merchant mariner document.
Enhanced driver’s licenses
Applications for enhanced identification cards, such as an enhanced driver’s license, can be filed at the state Department of Licensing office at 228 W. First St. in Port Angeles. DOL offices in Port Townsend and Forks don’t handle those applications.
A passport card can be received by filling out the same application as for a passport. The card, available since July 14, is wallet-sized and less expensive than a passport.
A passport costs $100 for adults and $85 for people under the age of 16.
A passport card costs $45 for adults and $35 for people under the age of 16.
Getting a passport within two to three weeks after filing an application will cost an extra $60. Overnight delivery will cost an additional $14.85.
Updating a valid Washington state driver’s license or other identification card to the enhanced version costs $15. For those people without identification cards or with out-of-state identification cards, getting an enhanced card will cost $60.
The requirements for documentation when re-entering the United States at land and sea ports is changing because of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which is part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
