Submission of application
The completed form DS-5509 Application for U.S. Hague Adoption Certificate or Custody Declaration and all required supporting documents may be submitted to the Office of Children's Issues, Department of State, by any method listed below. Use only ONE method of submission; DO NOT send the application and the supporting documents under separate cover or by different methods.
Please note that supporting documents will not be returned. For this reason we recommend that applicants not submit original documents.
Express Mail Service or U.S. Postal Service
The address for courier (FedEx/UPS/DHL) and U.S. Postal Service use is:
U.S. Department of State
Office of Children’s Issues, SA-29
Hague Adoption Unit (HAC/HCD)
2100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 4th floor
Washington, D.C. 20037
E-mail
Completed application forms DS-5509 and supporting documents, either scanned or available in other electronic form, may be
sent to:
AdoptionUSCA@state.gov
The subject line should read as follows: Application for Hague Adoption Certificate/Custody Declaration” (as appropriate).
FAX
FAX number 202-736-9080. Please ensure that each page of a FAX submission is clearly numbered to indicate the total number
of pages and the individual page number (example: 1 of 9). FAX submission is not recommended for submissions of ten pages
or more in total

