WASHINGTON D.C., DC — QUESTION:
Is this letter about a study from the Passport Office legit?
ANSWER:
Yes, the Passport Office is studying the demand for passport products, and the letter, which one of our viewers received, is legit.
SOURCES:
U.S. Department of State
PROCESS:
Verify viewer Sharon from Fort Washington, Maryland got a letter in the mail that she found suspicious. It had a U.S. State Department emblem and said the Office of Passport Services is conducting a study.
It directed her to a website called "passportplanning.com" and cautioned "we will give you a call if we don't hear from you" in big bold letters.
That's exactly what happened to Sharon when she ignored the letter.
Over the years, others have received the letter too, posting online for more information.
Sharon asked us to verify if the Office of Passport Services really was conducting a study, and if the letter she got was real.
Our Verify researchers went directly to the State Department for answers.
A spokesperson confirmed that yes, they are conducting a study.
They're trying to get an estimate on the demand for adult and child passports, which is one of the reasons they'll ask you how many people in your household are under the age of 18.
The Passport Demand Forecasting Study is voluntary nationwide, and the information is used to improve customer service, allocate sufficient resources and innovate new products.
Each month, the passport services office is sending this letter to 35,000 addresses at random. Addresses are pulled from the U.S. Postal Service's list of residential addresses.
This is a mock letter of the study.
Our Verify researchers compared the mock letter to the letter Sharon received.
The two are nearly identical, except for the phone numbers.
Our Verify researchers went back to the State Department, who told us that the subcontractor in charge of the study changed the phone number back in December.
So we can confirm that both letters are legitimate, the Office of Passport Services is indeed doing a study, and this letter that Sharon got is real.