News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Passport processing at the Cumberland County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office will be by appointment only starting November 1.
Circuit Court Clerk Jessica Burgess said the change was made to help both employees and the public. She said the public will have a set time to be able to come to get their passport and will not have to wait. She said her employees will better be able to manage schedules.
“I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time,” Burgess said. “I’ve been talking to my staff on how they would like to do this as well, and they thought we may want to try and start with appointments, and I agree with it.”
Burgess said another thing to make the passport processing easier is to make sure those applying have all the necessary paperwork. There is a sheet listing all the paperwork needed at the Clerk’s office. Burgess said she is working on getting it posted to the Cumberland County website.
“If we have a family of eight that obviously takes quite a bit of time, and we close at 4,” Burgess said. “If they need to get here right at closer to four, if its just one or two that would be great. That just gives my staff time to plan.”
It costs $130 for an adult passport book. For children under 16 it is $100. The county charges a $35 processing fee, so one check will have to be cut to the county and the other to the U.S. Department of State.
“We’re going to work out the kinks with it, and kind of see how this works,” Burgess said. “We may have to adjust this a little bit. I think it’ll work out great once we get it out to the public that we are taking appointments.”
Among items needed for passport process are driver license, an original birth certificate with seal or old passport, and a photo. To set up an appointment contact the Circuit Court Clerk’s office by phone or email.
