The Department of State issues diplomatic passports at the request of the employing federal agency to U.S. government employees and their eligible family members who are serving the United States of America abroad under Chief of Mission (COM) authority; persons to whom the Department of State has granted diplomatic or consular titles; and persons who have diplomatic or comparable status due to the nature of their foreign mission or the position they hold.  

Entitlement to a diplomatic passport is determined by reviewing a number of factors including, but not limited to, the applicant's employing agency, employment status, travel destination, nature of assignment, and supervising authority.

Diplomatic passport books are black in color and contain an endorsement stating that the passport holder is travelling abroad on a diplomatic assignment for the U.S. government. 

The Department of State issues official passports to employees of the U.S. government and their eligible family members traveling abroad as part of their official duties. As with a diplomatic passport, entitlement to an official passport is based on several factors that are carefully reviewed by the Special Issuance Agency before approval.  

One major exception to entitlement for official passports is military personnel assigned to NATO countries and other countries with which the United States has a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). In most cases, military personnel may enter and exit such countries by presenting their military ID card and travel orders. Eligible family members may be issued no-fee regular passports by the Special Issuance Agency, which include a pre-printed endorsement reflecting their military dependent status.

Information on country specific requirements for DoD members can be found in the Foreign Clearance Guide.  

Official passport books are maroon in color and contain an endorsement stating that the passport holder is traveling abroad on an official assignment for the U.S. government. 

Gray service passports are issued on a limited basis to non-personal services (third party) contractors traveling to support the U.S. government whose travel cannot be accomplished using a regular passport.

No-fee regular passport books appear identical to regular (fee) passports. They are blue in color, do not require payment, and contain a special endorsement reflecting the passport holder's travel status. In addition to military dependent passports, the Special Issuance Agency issues no-fee regular passports to various U.S. citizens traveling in a government-affiliated capacity including: 

• Peace Corps volunteers
• American seamen employed on no-fee U.S. flag vessels
• A U.S. citizen employee of the United Seamen’s Service
• The U.S. citizen widow, widower, children, parent, brother, or sister of a deceased member of the U.S. Armed Forces buried abroad, who intends to travel abroad under the auspices of the American Battlefield Monuments Commission to visit the graves of such service member or to attend a funeral or memorial service for such member
• Employees of the American National Red Cross (and their dependents) traveling abroad under assignment for cooperation with and assistance to the U.S. Armed Forces
• Personnel traveling on DoD invitational travel orders, such as professional entertainers, clergy, sports clinic personnel, military athletes, and persons traveling abroad to participate in a court martial
• Next of kin (NOK) traveling to visit members of U.S. Armed Forces who are ill or injured abroad

The majority of U.S. passports fall under this category. Fee passport books are blue and alternately referred to as "regular" or "tourist" passports. These books are normally valid for 10 years (when issued to persons 16 and older) or five years (when issued to those under 16). Validity may be limited, however, if the applicant cannot provide sufficient documentation, has a history of lost/stolen passports, or is indebted to the U.S.

The blue passport book, alternately referred to as the Regular or Tourist passport, is the most commonly issued U.S. passport