{"id":5572,"date":"2026-07-10T16:06:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T16:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572"},"modified":"2026-07-10T16:06:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T16:06:02","slug":"know-before-you-go-getting-a-passport-for-summer-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572","title":{"rendered":"Know before you go: Getting a passport for summer travel"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) \u2014 A CBS 17 Investigation can help you avoid a costly\u00a0passport\u00a0trap this summer, amid websites that look official but can\u00a0charge you hundreds more than you should pay.<\/p>\n

Read more FIFA has nearly 1,200 tickets on sale for World Cup final at $7,380<\/a><\/p>\n

Summer months are among the busiest for international\u00a0trips, which means it\u2019s time to dust off your\u00a0passport or renew it.<\/p>\n

Terry Morris went online to try to get hers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis service came up that looked like a government website. It had the same colors as the post office and everything, so I thought it was the government website,\u201d said Morris, of Raleigh. \u201cI did not look at the URL.\u201d<\/p>\n

CBS 17 Investigates asked her what website it was. \u201cIt was\u00a0United\u00a0Passport,\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n

The company is not affiliated with the U.S. government,\u00a0though its website says it\u2019s a \u201ctrusted\u201d\u00a0passport\u00a0courier service. It also says it helps streamline the process of getting a passport, to help with any possible mistakes along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave them my birth certificate, my birth name, my married name, everything that you need to fill out a\u00a0passport\u00a0for, Social Security and two photos that were taken over at Walgreens,\u201d said Morris.<\/p>\n

Morris tells CBS 17 Investigates she paid $183 to the\u00a0company for their services. She says\u00a0the company\u00a0sent her forms\u00a0that are available for free on the U.S. Department of State website, including a\u00a0passport\u00a0application. <\/p>\n

\u201cI literally thought I was getting a physical\u00a0passport, not just the application,\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n

She says she also received instructions to visit a local\u00a0passport\u00a0acceptance facility. When she went to the post office, they told her she needed to pay\u00a0another $160 for her\u00a0passport.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost $400 for a\u00a0passport. That should have only cost me $160 to begin with,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

While United\u00a0Passport\u00a0describes itself as a legitimate, non-government service,\u00a0Morris feels\u00a0she was wronged. <\/p>\n

\u201cI made two complaints, one to the North Carolina attorney general.\u00a0And the other complaint was to the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

CBS 17 Investigates obtained a copy of\u00a0Morris\u2019 complaint to the North Carolina Attorney General\u2019s Office, along with\u00a0two other consumer complaints\u00a0made in the last few months.<\/p>\n

The company responded to one of those complaints by saying in part,\u00a0\u201cOur website clearly\u00a0discloses our third-party status and provides a link to the official government site for customers who prefer to apply independently. We are not a scam and do not represent ourselves as\u00a0a government agency.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

At the very bottom of the\u00a0company\u2019s website, it says,\u00a0\u201cUnited\u00a0Passport\u00a0is a non-government service provider working with licensed US\u00a0Passport\u00a0couriers. If you do not wish to use a third party, visit the\u00a0<\/em>U.S. Department of State website<\/u><\/em>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more South Carolina law mandates restaurants to identify origin of shrimp after Charleston controversy<\/a><\/p>\n

The site includes a hyperlink to the U.S. Department of State\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

The Department of State has a list of more than 200 \u201cregistered\u201d couriers that could help people with the\u00a0passport\u00a0process, noting that those companies charge fees for their services.<\/p>\n

CBS 17 Investigates did not find a company listed under the name \u201cUnited\u00a0Passport\u201d on the state department\u2019s list.<\/p>\n

But we did find something else: a company listed as \u201c123 Travel\u00a0Passport,\u201d whose website redirects to the \u201cUnited\u00a0Passport\u201d page.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many services and companies out there that may be legitimate, but the State Department can\u2019t vouch for them,\u201d said Mignon Houston, U.S. Dept of State\u00a0deputy spokesperson.<\/p>\n

Houston says sticking to government websites is a safe bet, for anyone specifically trying to avoid scams. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf we want to avoid scams, we always recommend go to a dot gov likely travel dot state.gov for all resources regarding your\u00a0passport.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the U.S. Department of State\u2019s website, you can get the documents for your\u00a0passport\u00a0or\u00a0if you qualify, you may be able to renew online. For new\u00a0passports, you go to any passport acceptance facility.<\/p>\n

For many, it\u2019s your local post office. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs it relates to\u00a0passport\u00a0facilities, we have over 7,500 across the\u00a0United\u00a0States. I\u2019m hearing that for every individual, that means 99 percent\u00a0of\u00a0U.S.\u00a0citizens are likely within 20-mile radius of a passport\u00a0facility,\u201d Houston told CBS 17 Investigates.<\/p>\n

The Better Business Bureau of Eastern Carolinas tells CBS 17 Investigates that they receive more reports of possible\u00a0passport\u00a0scams this time of year, as we head into these warmer months.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are looking\u00a0for services to fill out or turn in\u00a0passport\u00a0paperwork and they\u2019re either not receiving their paperwork back or they have paid for a service that they did not necessarily receive. So, they expect that this will cover the state fee or the federal fee, but really, you\u2019re just paying for a singular person to try and help you with your\u00a0passport,\u201d said Saige\u00a0Heigel, communications specialist for BBB Eastern Carolinas.<\/p>\n

As for Morris, she tells CBS 17 Investigates, \u201cMy bank was understanding. And they have given me a provisional refund.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bottom line, if you\u2019re applying for a\u00a0passport, start at\u00a0travel.state.gov<\/u>, where forms are free and fees are clearly listed.<\/p>\n

In the coming weeks, we are digging into that list of more than 200 registered\u00a0courier companies and how the industry operates.<\/p>\n

Read more Scottie Scheffler headed for first missed cut in 4 years<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A CBS 17 Investigation can help you avoid a costly\u00a0passport\u00a0trap this summer, amid websites that look official but can\u00a0charge you hundreds more than you should pay. Summer months are among the busiest for international\u00a0trips, which means it\u2019s time to dust off your\u00a0passport or renew it. Terry Morris went online to try […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nKnow before you go: Getting a passport for summer travel - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Know before you go: Getting a passport for summer travel - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A CBS 17 Investigation can help you avoid a costly\u00a0passport\u00a0trap this summer, amid websites that look official but can\u00a0charge you hundreds more than you should pay. Summer months are among the busiest for international\u00a0trips, which means it\u2019s time to dust off your\u00a0passport or renew it. Terry Morris went online to try […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-10T16:06:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5572#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5572\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"headline\":\"Know before you go: Getting a passport for summer travel\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-10T16:06:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5572\"},\"wordCount\":909,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5572#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3f3348400c9eb40646a9cfc5ca7e307c.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5572#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5572\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5572\",\"name\":\"Know before you go: Getting a passport for summer travel - Raleigh Moving News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5572#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5572#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3f3348400c9eb40646a9cfc5ca7e307c.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-10T16:06:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5572#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5572\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5572#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3f3348400c9eb40646a9cfc5ca7e307c.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3f3348400c9eb40646a9cfc5ca7e307c.webp\",\"width\":800,\"height\":450},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=5572#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Know before you go: Getting a passport for summer travel\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Raleigh Moving News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Know before you go: Getting a passport for summer travel - Raleigh Moving News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Know before you go: Getting a passport for summer travel - Raleigh Moving News","og_description":"RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A CBS 17 Investigation can help you avoid a costly\u00a0passport\u00a0trap this summer, amid websites that look official but can\u00a0charge you hundreds more than you should pay. Summer months are among the busiest for international\u00a0trips, which means it\u2019s time to dust off your\u00a0passport or renew it. Terry Morris went online to try […]","og_url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572","og_site_name":"Raleigh Moving News","article_published_time":"2026-07-10T16:06:02+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"headline":"Know before you go: Getting a passport for summer travel","datePublished":"2026-07-10T16:06:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572"},"wordCount":909,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f3348400c9eb40646a9cfc5ca7e307c.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572","name":"Know before you go: Getting a passport for summer travel - Raleigh Moving News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f3348400c9eb40646a9cfc5ca7e307c.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-10T16:06:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f3348400c9eb40646a9cfc5ca7e307c.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f3348400c9eb40646a9cfc5ca7e307c.webp","width":800,"height":450},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5572#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Know before you go: Getting a passport for summer travel"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/","name":"Raleigh Moving News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}