A child flying alone involves two separate sets of paperwork, and people routinely prepare one and assume it covers the other. The airline’s unaccompanied minor program is one thing. A notarized consent letter is another. For international travel you generally want both.
The airline program
Airlines run their own unaccompanied minor service, and the details differ by carrier. What is broadly consistent is the shape of it.
There is an age band where the service is mandatory, typically covering younger children, and an older band where it is optional. There is a fee, charged each way and often per child. Many carriers restrict unaccompanied minors to nonstop flights, or bar the last departure of the day, so a connection that fails leaves the airline holding a child overnight.
The airline will require a named adult to drop off and a named adult to collect, each with government identification matching what was given at booking. The collecting adult usually cannot be changed casually at the other end.
Every one of those rules varies by carrier and changes. Confirm directly with the airline when you book, not the week before you fly.
Why you still want a consent letter
The airline form proves the airline agreed to carry the child. It says nothing to a border officer about whether the child’s parents consented to the trip.
For international travel, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recommends a signed letter of consent when a child travels without a parent, with contact details for the parents so an officer can call. Destination countries frequently want the same, often notarized.
So the airline form gets the child onto the aircraft. The consent letter gets them through the border.
Free child travel consent letter, ready to notarize.
What the letter should contain
- The child’s full legal name and date of birth exactly as printed on the passport
- Passport number and nationality for international travel
- Flight details, including airline, flight numbers and dates
- The full name and contact details of the adult receiving the child at the destination, and the relationship
- The address where the child will be staying
- Clear consent from every parent or guardian with legal custody
- Their signatures, printed names, and reachable phone and email
- Authority for the receiving adult to consent to medical treatment
- The notarial block
The receiving adult’s details matter more here than in any other version of this letter, because the child cannot explain the arrangement themselves under pressure.
What the child should carry
Passport and any required visa. A copy of the birth certificate. The notarized consent letter. The airline’s unaccompanied minor form. Printed contact details for both parents and the receiving adult. Return travel confirmation.
Put it all in one envelope in the carry on rather than in checked luggage, and tell the child where it is. Give the receiving adult a duplicate set.
Older teenagers
A sixteen or seventeen year old flying alone often falls outside the mandatory unaccompanied minor program, which leads parents to skip paperwork entirely.
Border officers still ask questions of a minor traveling alone, and destination countries still apply their own minimum ages and consent rules. A letter is worth carrying regardless of whether the airline required one.
Timing
Book the unaccompanied minor service at the time of booking rather than adding it later, since some carriers cap how many minors travel on a flight. Prepare and notarize the letter in advance. If the destination country requires the letter apostilled, allow several weeks, because that involves county clerk certification and the state. See apostille services.
Do not sign the letter before the notary appointment.
Frequently asked questions
What age can a child fly alone?
It depends on the airline. Most set a minimum age and a band where the unaccompanied minor service is compulsory. Ask the carrier.
Is the airline form enough for international travel?
Usually not on its own. Carry a notarized consent letter as well.
Can the child connect through another airport?
Many airlines restrict unaccompanied minors to nonstop flights. Confirm before booking.
Who can collect the child?
Only the named adult, with identification matching the booking. Changing that person is not always possible.
Can both parents sign remotely?
Yes, by online notarization from anywhere in the United States.
What the airline needs versus what the border needs
Two separate sets of paperwork, and confusing them is the reason children get turned away at check in with a perfect consent letter in hand.
The airline wants its own unaccompanied minor form, completed at booking, naming the adult dropping off and the adult collecting, with identification matching. It also wants the fee, and it applies its own rules about age bands, connections and last departures of the day.
The border wants evidence that the child’s parents consented to the trip. That is the notarized letter, and no airline form substitutes for it.
For international travel a child alone normally needs both. Complete the airline form when you book, and prepare the letter separately.
Building the letter around the receiving adult
This version of the letter carries more weight on the destination end than any other, because the child cannot explain the arrangement under pressure.
Name the receiving adult in full, exactly as their identification reads, with their relationship to the child, their address, and a phone number that will be answered. Give the address where the child will be staying. State that this adult is authorized to consent to medical treatment.
Then give the same package to the receiving adult, so both ends of the journey hold identical documents.
Prepare the child, not just the paperwork
Put the documents in the carry on, not the hold, and tell the child where they are. Write the parents’ and the receiving adult’s phone numbers on paper as well as in a phone, because batteries die and a nervous child will not remember a number.
Tell them plainly who will meet them and what to do if that person is not there. Airline staff handle this well, but a child who knows the plan handles it better.
Older teenagers traveling alone
A sixteen or seventeen year old usually falls outside the airline’s mandatory unaccompanied minor program, which leads parents to skip paperwork entirely.
Border officers still question a minor traveling alone, and destination countries apply their own minimum ages and consent rules regardless of what the airline required. Carry a letter anyway. It costs nothing and it is the difference between a short exchange and a long one.
Timing
Book the unaccompanied minor service at the time of booking rather than adding it later, because some carriers cap how many minors travel on a single flight. Prepare and notarize the letter well before departure.
If the destination country requires the letter apostilled, allow several weeks, because that involves county clerk certification and then the state. See apostille services.
See also: medical consent for a minor · designating a caregiver in New York
Related reading
- Free child travel consent form
- Do you need a notarized letter for a child to travel?
- Consent letters for international travel
- Travel consent for divorced parents
- Traveling with grandparents
- Unaccompanied minor travel
- DS-3053 passport consent form
This is general information, not legal advice, and NotarEaseNYC is not a law firm. A notary public cannot advise you on custody orders or immigration requirements. Requirements vary by airline, country and court order, so confirm with the airline and the destination country’s consulate before you travel.