Trump Picture on Passport: Everything Americans Need to Know Before July 2025

US passport – (Web Desk) – For the first time in American history, a sitting president’s face will appear inside a US passport. The Trump picture on passport was officially announced by the State Department on Tuesday, with a limited number of specially designed travel documents set to be released to mark America’s 250th birthday in July. The new passport shows a stern-looking Donald Trump placed over the original Declaration of Independence, with his gold signature printed below it.

This move breaks a long-standing tradition. No sitting US president has ever appeared in American passports before — and very few democracies anywhere in the world have ever done something like this.

What Does the New Passport Actually Look Like?

The special edition passport features Donald Trump’s image layered over the Declaration of July 4, 1776. His signature appears in gold underneath. There is also a second limited-edition version that does not show Trump — instead, it features a historic painting of the US Founding Fathers. Both versions were shared by the State Department on social media.

These passports will only be handed out at in-person appointments in Washington, DC, and only for as long as supplies last. The good news is that they will not cost anything extra — there is no additional fee beyond the normal passport charge. However, most Americans apply for passports through their local post office, and those locations will not carry the special edition.

Can You Refuse to Get the Trump Design?

It is not entirely clear yet whether applicants can request a regular passport instead of the Trump-themed one. Since the special edition is only available at specific in-person appointments in Washington, most people who apply through a post office or other standard channels will automatically receive the normal passport — so for the majority of Americans, there is no choice to make.

Why Is This Considered Unusual?

Looking at countries around the world, almost all of them use nature scenes or historical artwork inside their passports. Even North Korea — a country where leader Kim Jong Un’s image appears everywhere — does not place his photo inside the national passport. That document shows Mount Paektu instead. So the idea of a sitting leader’s photo in a passport is genuinely rare, even by global standards.

Current US passports already carry beautiful imagery — the Moon landing, the Statue of Liberty, and other moments from American history. Adding a president’s photo to that mix is something that has simply never been done before.

Democratic lawmakers are not holding back. Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee criticized Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying the government should be focused on bigger issues — like ending what they called Trump’s “war of choice in Iran” — rather than spending taxpayer money on what they described as feeding Trump’s personal vanity. Their statement was posted on X (formerly Twitter).

This passport is not the only example of Trump putting his personal mark on government. Since returning to the White House, his name has been added to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the now-dismantled US Institute of Peace. Several government buildings in Washington have also put up banners with his image. And just last month, the Treasury Department said Trump’s signature would soon appear on the US dollar bill — another first in American history.

Britain’s King Charles III appears on Commonwealth currency, but as a head of state who stays out of day-to-day politics. The King and Trump actually met in Washington on Tuesday, the same day the passport news broke.