The United States Department of State announced on 30 July that it will make an additional 250,000 copies of a limited-edition commemorative passport featuring President Donald Trump available to applicants nationwide. The document, branded the “Patriot Passport”, was previously obtainable only through in-person applications at the Washington, D.C. passport office. According to the department, the expansion responds to “overwhelming demand” and will allow Americans outside the capital to apply at special one-day events beginning on 8 August at passport agencies in Centennial (Colorado), Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, New Orleans, New York and Stamford (Connecticut), with the list of participating offices growing throughout the month.

The State Department said the commemorative passport is part of the America250 programme marking the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding. Its interior page displays a portrait of President Trump over a gold facsimile of his signature, while the cover reverses the standard layout by placing “United States of America” in gold at the top and “Passport” at the bottom. A gold laminate flag with the number 250 encircled by stars appears on the back cover. The department stressed that the document carries the same security features and legal validity as a conventional US passport. Applicants who wish to obtain the special edition must appear in person on the designated dates; those seeking a traditional passport are directed to apply on different days or through alternative channels, including online, by mail, or at embassies and consulates abroad.

The release makes Trump the first living president to be depicted in a US passport. Current standard passports feature only the four presidents carved on Mount Rushmore—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln—alongside national symbols such as the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell, and quotations from Martin Luther King Jr. and several former presidents. The decision to place Trump’s image and signature inside the travel document is the latest in a series of moves by his administration to increase the president’s visibility on official items. The US Mint has begun producing a gold-finished commemorative coin bearing Trump’s likeness, and the Treasury Department is pursuing the unprecedented step of adding his signature to new paper currency. His name was also added to the signage of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, though a federal court later ordered its removal.

Viewed from Washington, the commemorative passport rollout extends a pattern of embedding the president’s persona into state symbology ahead of the 2026 semiquincentennial. The State Department has indicated that additional opportunities to apply will be announced, and its website lists passport offices across 19 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico that will host application events. The department has not stated whether the commemorative edition will be renewed beyond the current limited release.