The Brooklyn Public Library stopped processing passport applications on Friday, Feb. 27, after receiving a federal order to end the service, according to the Brooklyn Paper.
Last fall, the U.S. Department of State sent cease-and-desist letters to hundreds of nonprofit libraries nationwide, saying they were no longer eligible to participate in the Passport Acceptance Facility Program. Brooklyn Public Library was the only one of New York City’s three library systems offering passport services, the paper said.
The State Department determined that federal law bars non-government nonprofits from collecting passport application fees, according to the Associated Press. Nonprofit libraries, however, had handled passport applications for decades.
“Since 2011, we have processed nearly 300,000 passport applications, providing an accessible service through a trusted neighborhood institution — the public library,” a BPL spokesperson told the Brooklyn Paper.
The program operated at the Central Library branch at Grand Army Plaza and the Kings Highway branch, where residents could apply in person for a $35 processing fee. The library also provided passport photo services, the paper reported.
Library officials said the revenue generated from passport services, $716,450 in 2023, according to tax filings, largely covered the cost of running the program and would not affect other library operations.
Brooklyn residents can still apply for passports at select U.S. Postal Service locations and at the Kings County Clerk’s Office, which accepts applications on weekdays during limited morning and afternoon hours. Not all post offices offer photo services.
