Passport Services no longer
available in auto license bureaus

By order of the federal government, Auto License Bureaus, both permanent and mobile, will no longer be able to accept U. S. Passport applications, effective January 3. The Monroe County Clerk's downtown office, that handles only legal filings, will continue to accept passport applications daily, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. without an appointment.

"I am upset with the federal government's shortsighted decision to make obtaining a passport harder while mandating that all citizens carry one for foreign travel," said Monroe County Clerk Cheryl Dinolfo. "The residents of Monroe County deserve the opportunity to apply for a passport in the most convenient and secure manner possible which, until this decision, was through our six Auto License Bureau locations and the County Clerk's Office downtown."

The Auto License Bureaus handled 6,900 passport applications in 2004, or 68 percent of the 10,184 handled by the entire Monroe County Clerk's Office. By December 2005, the Auto License Bureaus had handled 60 percent of all applications in the Clerk's Office. "I'm dedicated to strengthening the Clerk's Office outreach efforts regarding passports. We've had great success with our special passport days, bringing passport services to local businesses and I hope to enlist local schools and colleges in the near future," said Dinolfo. "My office has been at the forefront of making a passport easier to obtain. This decision by the federal government is a significant obstacle. However, I will continue to seek new ways to help all interested county residents obtain a passport."

Submitted material

January 8, 2006